


Time has no Limits

by Fallingforgravity



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Jealousy, Romance, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-11-04 10:28:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 52,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10989063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallingforgravity/pseuds/Fallingforgravity
Summary: The infinity die opens a portal through time and space, sucking you through. Landing you right into the clutches of Bill and the arms of Ford. How will you get home? And what does this demon really want with you?





	1. Something Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The name's Bill.

Stanley crossed his arms at his brother, who was rudely taking up the entire TV room with his stupid D, D and more D game. He wanted to watch an awesome duck show with the kids, but noooooo Ford had to put his dumb nerd game in here. Ever since his brother had gotten back they had been at each others necks, arguing about this and that. They were just too different. 

"Hey get out of here Ford, were going to watch Duck-tective!" Stanley stated, reaching to pull graph paper off the TV. Ford jumped up and glared at Stan, annoyed that his brother wanted to watch some children's television show instead of doing something productive or adult. 

"Move that and you will pay the Price!" He growled and Stan laughed in his face, retorting  "Oh, what, fifty magical dwarf dollars?" as he reached to pull the paper off again. Ford shook his head, aggravated at his brother as per the usual. 

"Don't mock our fantastical monetary system!" 

"I'll mock whatever I want, Its my TV room!" Stan shouted only frustrating Ford more.

"Its my House! " Ford snapped back and then sighed heavily. "Listen, Stanley, did it ever occur to you to if you joined us you might actually have fun?" Stanley looked aghast as Ford shook the bag of dice becomingly. 

"WHAT?! Now you listen to me!" Stanley was shouting now, always the aggressive and snatched the bag from Ford. "As long as I live I will never..."

Dipper and Ford both put their hands up in fear, knowing the infinity sided dice was in that bag. 

"Grunkle Stan WAIT!" Dipper shouted, reaching out for the bag.

"EVER..." Stanley was still yelling, trying to make his point louder than everyone else.

"Stanley!" Ford exclaimed, also reaching for the bag held high in the air by his brother.

"Play your Smartypants nerd game!" With that Stan threw the dice bag on the ground and dice went everywhere. The black box that held the infinity sided die shattered and it rolled along the floor.

"NO!" Ford shouted, leaping towards the die but it was too late. The room shook with a thunderous sound as a purple crack was ripped through the air itself, knocking everyone to the ground. 

* * *

I was screaming.

As a ripping noise filled my room, I spun around to see just that, a rip. In the middle of the air. Filled with what looked like...space? I heard a loud noise, piercing and shrill, only to realize it was me, screaming in frozen fear. Before I had time to think of much more my legs were being pulled into the void. I dug my fingers into the carpet behind me, clawing for a grip.

"HELP!" I had no idea what was happening, but it was terrifying. The void was up to my waist now and my legs were numb like they werent real. Suddenly the suction became too much and with a loud Pop! that left my ears ringing I was pulled through the portal.

Rocketing through wavelengths and stars I had enough time to comprehend how much of this I didn't understand before I blacked out, still screaming in the void.

* * *

 

Suddenly I was in an ashy field, surrounded by swaying wheat. Everything around me was grey and broken like a volcano had erupted and covered the world in dust. The eerie silence was unsettling but I couldn't bring myself to make any noise. Something felt so very wrong here. Not as soon as I thought that something flew past me, rustling the wheat and blowing my hair back. I could feel its massive form hulking in the wheat and spun around, greeted with the stare of a giant eye. I screamed and fell, landing hard but feeling no pain and the eye cackled in a way that made my ears hurt.

_Oh god I want to go home..._

Whatever this weird dream was I wanted it to stop. Wanted to wake up, laying on my stomach on the floor of my room, reading the amazing book I had just bought. Safe. In my home.

The eye seemed to shrink and I noticed it was actually a triangular shape...with limbs? I groaned, my mind splintering under my own confusion, or so I thought. The cackling stopped and the thing grew closer, causing goosebumps to pop onto my arms.

"Well Well **WELL"** The demonic, male voice shook my insides and I shuddered which earned another cackle. "What is a delicate little **_MORTAL_** doing in this realm?" I couldn't even think of speaking to this thing, barely holding onto my consciousness. It's like something was trying to pry into my brain, chipping away at my skull to get there. My sight grew hazy around the edges and I blinked hard to clear it. The last thing that needed to happen was blacking out around this thing.  The eye grew massive again and it's voice rang out.

"You think your mind is strong? We will see about that..." His voice seemed angry, like I hadn't given him what he wanted. Whatever that was...

 _Leave me alone...leave me alone...._ I chanted the mantra in my mind, hoping it would make some kind of difference and squeezed my eyes shut to block him someway. I could feel him moving around me and fought the urge to see what he was doing. 

"Leave you alone?! Well I can't do that! You're very important to something I've got going on! Whadda ya say, gonna help a guy out?!" He felt so close to me but the voice was still ringing through my mind like he wasn't speaking real words but thoughts inside my own head. 

 _Leave me alone....Leave me alone...._ I dropped to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my face, eyes still squeezed tightly shut. It didn't matter what he wanted, he wasn't going to get it. 

"Fine! We will have to do this the hard way. We will meet again kid and _when we do ...oh when we do..._ " With another loud pop he was gone and I fell back into the wheat, blacking out once again.

* * *

 

I woke up on a shaggy carpet, face down with the smell of smoke wafting out of it. Once more confused I just lay there a moment, eyes half-lidded and tried to assess myself. Two arms oddly weak, two legs though my left one felt pained and caked with something, one head. My head.

_I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay...I'm so scared._

My body started to shiver as the shock set in...this may have qualified as a traumatic event. I wanted to see where I was, figure out what was happening, go home but my body was just so tired. Trying to lift onto shaky arms, I gasped as pain coursed through my body and down my leg and fell head first back into the floor. At least I would have if a large hand hadn't caught my face. The hand felt strange, wider than normal, but warm and it was the first reassuring thing that had happened since this whole thing started. I craned my neck upwards to see a bespectacled face with warm, honey brown eyes. His red sweater stood out to me in a familiar way that I couldn't place. He didn't smile but did seem very curious. He was already kneeled down and decided to sit, releasing my face from his grasp to lay lightly on the floor.

"Can you sit up with help?" He asked, voice low and a bit gravely but not unpleasant. I thought for a moment and nodded slowly. His large hands wrapped around my shoulders and I noticed for the first time he had an extra finger. 6 fingers?

_God what kind of world am I in..._

He turned me towards him and I hissed in pain, soon replaced by a louder yelp as he wrapped his arm around the small of my back and pulled me into a sitting position. My leg burned with a pain I had never felt before and tears were leaking quickly from my eyes. A cursory look down at my jeans showed them crusted with what looked like blood. My blood. The man still had his arms around me, my entire body shaking and unable to sit up of it's own accord.

"Stanley, go get the first aid kit." The man called and I saw for the first time the other people in the room. In shock I first looked between the man now leaving the room and the man holding onto me, realizing much too slowly that they were twins. I then saw a pair of children and damned if they didn't look like twins too. The girl had a large grin plastered across her face and looked positively buzzing to come over to us. She was currently being held back by her male twin who had the most worried look I'd ever seen on a child before. Were children supposed to worry like that? The room itself was filthy...as if an explosion had happened and knocked everything askew. Come to mention it...the ground below me was singed black. I looked back at the man, the desperate pain in my leg receding to a low ache as long as it wasn't moving and his eyes focused on me again. Such an intense stare, like he was looking into my very soul. I finally found my voice after an incredibly long eye contact session.

"W-where...am I?" My voice betrayed me, croaking out with an ugly rasp. He smiled in a lopsided manner as if this was a question he was used to.

"Welcome to Gravity Falls."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3-8-15-15-19-5


	2. Something Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanford can be so difficult sometimes.

"Welcome to Gravity Falls." He said with a lopsided smile. What a peculiar name for a town. The little girl in the room broke free of her brothers grasp and bounced over to me.

"Hi I'm Mable! Who are you? Where did you come from?! ARE YOU MAGIC?!" She chattered, quicker than my brain could grasp. Good Lord this child talks fast. I opened my mouth to speak just as the other man, Stanley I think his name was, walked back into the room.

"Mable leave her alone. You kids go find something to do." He grumbled and walked over to me, grinning ear to ear. "Looks like something got you good Doll." I gave an exasperated laugh, and nodded, shifting and grimacing in pain. The man holding me passed me off to Stanley, earning much pain in the process, and mumbled something about going to research what had happened. The now dejected looking girl wandered off with a pig in tow and the boy followed after the man. Stanley set to work on my leg, chattering on about this place being called the Mystery Shack and not to worry my pretty little head because they were going to work everything out.

_Why do I feel like the only one that doesn't have an idea what's going on..._

Soon enough my leg was cleaned and wrapped from ankle to thigh. Stanley had to cut my jeans off, earning many blushes from me and jokes from him. I was now sitting on the couch, leg propped on the table, sipping coffee. He had told me that the other man was his brother, Ford, and the kids were their niece and nephew, Mable and Dipper. I nodded along as he told me what happened leading up to my explosion into their living room and exchanged stories back about my experience. He grimaced when I mentioned the nightmare but said nothing about it. He explained the oddities that surrounded this town and I tried to understand. I had always had an interest in the paranormal but never thought something like this could be real.

"So you mean to tell me that its 2012?" I asked, staring into the coffee cup. Stanley nodded and then cleared his throat.

"Yeah that's right...and you say that the last you remember is was 2007?" He asked, so nonchalant. I nodded again and looked up at him, solemnly. He sighed and ran a hand through his browned hair, knowing things that I obviously didn't.

"I'll be honest, all this time travel shit is beyond me. But it looks like that's the case here. Believe it or not my brother and I are victims too it to."

I sat up a bit, grimacing softly though the pain was receding with the medication he had given me, and felt a bit of hope. "So you can help me get home then? It you guys know so much about this?"

Sighing again he shook his head. "Its not that easy...but if anyone can figure it out it's Ford. Don't worry sweetie, in the meantime you'll just stay with us. We will mend up your leg and figure everything out. This family is pretty good at figuring things out."

_I really hope so..._

* * *

 

The next couple of days were a blur. They had given me a room to stay in and my leg was slowly mending. I ate meals with the family, learned so much about them and swapped stories of my own. Told them of my mother and how worried she must be about me, my dog who I missed terribly, about how I was currently in school for engineering. I barely saw Ford but when I did he was kind. They all were. I found myself fascinated by Ford, wanting to talk to him most of all but he never seemed to want to carry a conversation, just eat with us and get back to work. I made crafts with Mable to pass the time and Dipper would tell me stories about all the things they had come across in Gravity Falls. Stanley also spent a lot of time with me, and though he had interesting stories to tell and was positively dripping charm, I turned his advances down easily. Though it didn't seem to deter him much, motivated man he was, it also didn't bother me terribly. I would occasionally inquire about how research was going but was met with vagueness. I asked once if I could call my mother and was told what an awful idea that would be. It was now the evening of the third day I had been there and I was sitting on a bench outside, looking around at the peaceful trees. I saw what I thought was Stanley approaching and smiled happily. To my surprise it was Ford, carrying a journal.

"Room for one more?" Ford asked softly, the same lopsided smile on his face. I nodded, excited to see if he had any news on the research he had been doing. He lowered himself down into the bench across from me, laying down a journal with a 6 fingered hand on it and the number 3.

"How is your leg feeling?"

I shrugged, looking down at it. I was wearing shorts for comfort and the fresh bandages were bright in the sun.

"It's okay, still hurts a lot but Stan changes the dressings to keep it clean." When we had first uncovered the wound it was a deep, veiny cut down my leg, thigh to ankle, that spiderwebbed in an ugly way. Ford grimaced a bit and looked off towards the trees.

"I'm glad he is able to help you out so much. He's a good man. You seem to fit in well here."

I chuckled a bit and turned to meet his eyes but they were still staring off into the forest.

"He is a good man, albeit a very eager one." I thought I had caught an off tone to his voice but it was really impossible to tell. I barely knew the man, as much as I wanted to. Ford didn't react to my comment at all so I decided to continue on. "So have you found anything out?"

Ford turned then and his eyes were bright, the eyes of an intelligent man ready to explain.

"I did. So we know what brought you here was a die that has infinite possibilities. It just so happened that one of those possibilities was ripping you straight out of your home, through space and time and 5 years into the future, here. So it was completely by chance. There's no chance that rolling it again would take you home. There may be other ways to get you home, it's just..." He trailed off and sighed, running a hand through chestnut Brown hair and locked eyes with me. I held his stare again, wanting to hope for good news but also bewitched by his eyes.

_He's so handsome..._

I angrily dismissed the thought from my mind, what an awful time to think about something like that, and cleared my throat. He jumped as if surprised and his cheeks seemed a bit rosier than before.

"Ah...but it would be very dangerous and take a considerable amount of time to work through. I would have to create a wormhole back to your time. It also would open us up to many dangers otherwise..." He seemed very uncomfortable with the idea of this. I laid my head down sideways on my arm and sighed.

"I'm never going home..." I felt tears leak onto my cheeks, a sudden outburst of sadness. Just as quickly as it came I tried to push it away and jumped as a hand touched my face. Ford looked down at me, wiping a trail of tears away. I didn't want to move, the feeling of his hand on my skin a safe one, instead choosing to look up at him. His stare was intense and yet...I felt good under the gaze. As much as I wanted to go home, my desire to know this man was so strong.

We sat there for a moment, just like that, Ford's hand on my face and thumb rubbing my cheek before a very conflicted expression crossed his face. He sighed and pulled back, standing quickly and reaching for his journal.

"I have work to do, more research. We will find a wa-" I grabbed his hand before he could continue, pulling it back towards me.

"Please, will you stay with me a bit. I don't want to be alone." The words jumped out of my mouth before I could think about them. He seemed to think a moment, eyes shining as they did so handsomely, before pulling his hand away. My heart sank a bit.

"I really do have a lot to do." He said softly and left without another word. I had no reason to be so upset about this but...it still stung.

After a few minutes of silent sulking I slowly moved my leg off the bench and started to stand. Stan had insisted I call for him when I was done sitting outside so he could help me in, but I wanted to walk on my own. As soon as pressure was put on the leg though it buckled and betrayed me. I went down hard and gasped, the pain overcoming for a moment. Raising into my arms I angrily beat the ground.

_I hate this, I want to go HOME!_

My overwhelmed mind was filled with anger and pain now, tired of not understanding, tired of being in pain, tired of being tired. As my eyes grew hazy around the edges I felt blackness settling in and heard a voice from all around.

**_"Back already kid? Maybe there's a way I could help you."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6


	3. Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh Bill....you're never fun.  
> Hope you guys are enjoying it :)

**_"Back already kid? Maybe there's a way I could help you."_ **

The voice floated around my head painfully, one I immediately recognized. Prying my eyes open made the ashy ground and blood colored sky visible. A groan escaped my lips and I shoved myself onto shaky arms, looking around. Everything was broken and destroyed, the Mystery Shack in shambles, trees dead on the ground.

_What is going on?_

_**"You look like you could use the help."**_ There was that voice again, ugly and loud, coming from behind me. I shifted on the ground with a grimace to find the odd triangle man sitting on the bench, unnatural legs crossed, staring at me with that one awful eye.

"I don't want your help..." The words left me softly, knowing anything he had to offer wouldn't be good. He floated up and towards me, taking a finger and running it up my leg. I screamed with the pain as it flooded me, blood immediately soaking through the bandages.

**_"Kid you need my help. I can get you home! You just have to do a little something for me. Whaddya say?"_** The thing didn't have a mouth but I could swear him grinning as a hand stuck out for a handshake. For a deal. The pain was so overwhelming but I steeled myself and looked up into his eye.

"I Don't. Want. Your. Help." I spoke stronger now, angrier. This thing was evil and I wanted it away from me, as far away as possible. He cackled and starting spinning into a circle around me, faster and faster. I closed my eyes against the blur, feeling fingers prodding at my brain. With a sickened lurch I covered my head with my hands, wishing for a reprieve from the feeling. As if tiny bugs were trying to work themselves through my mind.  He finally slowed, multiplying into 6 different copies and circled my body.

**_"You're making a bad decision. You need me. You really think those Pines can help you? When you decide you want to go home let me know. The name's Bill."_** He morphed back into one and was suddenly in my face, hand grabbing my cheek in a mock of a sweet gesture. His skin burned against mine and I shrieked, pushing away. Laughing once more he did a spin and flew into the air, disappearing with a loud pop. I held my face and let the tears stream as the world grew black around me.

_Ford...Ford Help me..._

* * *

 

Large hands were wrapping around me and I woke with a scream, thrashing against the hands. "NO DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screeched, twisting and turning. The hands held firm to me and I threw my eyes open, disoriented and scared. My face and leg ached uncontrollably and my mind felt like melted butter. Staring down at me were those honey brown eyes and the relief came in waves. I was back, away from Bill, away from the evil. With a sob I buried my self into his chest and wrapped weak arms around his neck. 

"Oh Ford...it was so awful..." I whispered, letting the blackness take me again.

* * *

 

Stanley sighed, carrying her like a bride, and held her closer. A sad smile crossed his face mixed with a look of worry. This poor girl had been through much, nightmares terrorizing her, that awful wound on her leg, he shouldn't be so disappointed by the fact that she wanted his brother. If she could find even the smallest comfort anywhere he should be happy for her. But Ford wouldn't treat her as good as he would...he was too aloof, too serious. Ford didn't deserve her. At the same time he didn't have any idea why he was worried about such a silly thing. They were trying to send her home which didn't equate well with the idea that his heart thumped extra hard when he touched her. As a man that had had plenty of women, lovers and actual loves, he knew the difference between those. This was a new feeling though. Why was she in our life? There had to be a reason.

He slipped through the door of the Mystery Shack, careful not to knock her against anything and walked up the stairs to her room. This had been the first time he had seen her peacefully sleep and he intended to let her as long as she needed. The wound on her leg seemed to have bled through the bandages but he figured that could wait until later. As he was laying her down on the bed, he squinted his eyes at her cheek where a large red mark was developing...in the shape of a hand. He knew that four fingered hand print. Grimacing Stanley covered the girl and quickly made his way down the stairs to the vending machine. Punching in the code from heart it hissed open and he sprinted down those stairs as well.

"Ford!" He called, nearing the lab and not seeing his brother. Looking through the glass window he saw Ford in the chamber down below, staring up at the half constructed portal that stood there. It didn't take Stanley long to reach the room where he was, still staring up at the portal.

"Ford, we need to talk." Stanley was breathing a bit hard from the dash downstairs and pulled a chair up to sit. Ford nodded and turned towards Stan, crossing his arms in a bit of a dejected way.

"Yes we do. I don't know if I can get this thing running again Stanley...and even if I do, powering it and running it could bring Bill right back to us, right into this world." Ford scrubbed his stubble and sighed. Stanley nearly chuckled, more at the irony than anything else, but held it back. "Through all of my searching there doesn't seem to be another way to get her back..." Ford trailed off, mind crunching through all ideas he had made and disproved. 

"Not to add another worry on you about the situation but you need to come see something." Stanley rose from the chair and motioned for his brother to follow. The two made their way back up the stairs and into the guest room. Ford furrowed his brow, looking back at his brother.

"Did she pass out again? She was fine when I spoke with her outside." He walked towards the girl, thinking of how attractive she was, before noticing the mark on her face and gasping. "Bill..."

Stanley nodded and walked over as well. "I found her on the ground outside, she screamed when I went to pick her up. Sounded like she thought I was going to hurt her. Then she mistook me for you, cuddled up and passed out."Stanley's voice sounded a tad bitter but predominantly concerned. Ford bit his lip in worry, choosing not to acknowledge the very obvious statement thrown in by his brother.

"What on earth would Bill want with her? She has nothing to help him..." Ford mused, trying to think of any reason the demon would have for wanting a mortal girl stuck in a different time. "Maybe as a tool...maybe he knows that we're rebuilding the portal to get her home..."

Stanley shrugged, thinking how he didn't want the girl to go home, and looked back at Ford.

"All I know is that we need to start giving her more information...and worrying about safety. We have two kids to keep safe as well."

Ford nodded and looked back at the bed, an unreadable expression gracing his features. He wanted to keep everyone safe, wanted to further his research and now...he wanted to spend time with her.


	4. Something Borrowed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, BUY GOLD! BYE!

I woke up with a sudden gasp and looked around quickly, mind still foggy and drained. The room was dark, lit only by the orange hall light, and incredibly cold for it being in the middle of summer. I gave myself a few moments to lay back onto the pillow and see if my body wanted to drift back off or if it was up for the day. Definitely the latter. I yawned, pulling the blanket off of me and grimacing as it peeled away from my leg. Though the light wasn't good it was pretty easy to tell that there was blood absolutely everywhere. It seemed like the middle of the night, or at least was still dark out, and waking everyone up by calling for someone seemed like a pretty rude idea. I realized that my leg should be in an awful lot of pain but the opposite was true, it felt better than it had since the wound happened. Swinging my legs over the bed and feeling nothing more than a dull ache I stretched widely until a small squeak popped out of my throat. 

_Alright...let's take care of these pants..._

I slowly pulled the jeans down my hips, bending hurt a tad bit more, and got everything off except the left leg. It was crusted, gooey, generally everything you didn't want your leg to be. After a few moments I had successfully wrestled them off and sighed, pulling on my shorts. The long spindled cut seemed to have grown wider and was still openly oozing. 

_I'l have to do laundry soon...._

Tears prickled behind my eyes as I thought of home, where everything I owned was, where my family was. I didn't hate the situation I was in, it felt a bit like a dreamy adventure, but it was scary to think that it might never end. I just wished I was more prepared for an adventure like this...it just wasn't like me. Shoving my hair out of my eyes with a loud  _huff_ I walked towards the bathroom down the hall, angrily tossing tears away. Most people would give a lot of things to get out of the normal day to day and do something like this. Everything just seemed so much bigger and scarier, like I was a kid again.

The bathroom was dark and I didn't much feel like turning the bright lights on, already being assaulted by the hall lights. Instead I climbed into the shower in the dark, turning on the water and shuddering at the cold needles against my skin. Finally the water warmed, steamed and then burned. Just the way I loved it. I buried my face in the waterfall and let another sigh escape, relief and relaxation being a welcome change.

_At least I didn't have another nightmare..._

Whatever those nightmares were they were absolutely awful. That creepy triangle thing....man....whatever it was definitely gave me the creeps. He seemed like he wanted something from me and I felt crazy thinking that he was trying to get into my head....my thoughts. Not 3 days ago I would've thought something like that was impossible. 

_Welcome to Gravity Falls...._

The thought caused me to chuckle into the water as I began to wash myself, lathering and relishing in how nice it felt to be alone, standing and clean. Burying my head in the stream, listening to the thundering sound with my eyes squeezed shut, I missed the bathroom door swinging open and orange light drifting in. 

I missed the sound of footsteps creeping into the bathroom.

 

I missed the creaking of the floor next to the shower.

 

I missed the shadow of a large hulking figure outside of the thin curtain.

 

I did not miss the massive stream of ice water that suddenly poured over my head. I jerked back and screamed, the cold shocking me enough to lose footing and hit the ground. My scream was followed by two other screams and two loud thumps. I groaned on the floor of the shower, my backside in a significant amount of pain, and grabbed the curtain to peek out. The young twins were laying on the ground, Dipper rubbing his head and Mable looking dazed. They both met my eyes and scrambled up, Mable giving another shriek.

"Ohmygoshomigoshohmigosh we're SO sorry! We were just trying to play a joke on our Grunkle! SORRY SORRY SORRY!" She looked absolutely frantic and I chuckled, closing the curtain to preserve my modesty and their eyes. How could I be mad at such a thing. I heard both kids shuffle in the bathroom, perhaps waiting for anger or something else. 

"Get out of here kids before I decide to tell one of yo-" Before I could even finish the sentence footsteps came bounding down the hall and another figure appeared in the doorway. I couldn't quite make out which brother it was but was quickly reminded of the fact that I was very unclothed, in a shower and now 3 other people in the bathroom.

"What are you kids doing?! What's going on?!" Ah, it was Ford. Though Stanley and Ford were twins their voices were different along with the way they spoke. Both younger twins remained silent, shuffling their feet from what I could tell. I cleared my throat from the shower and watched the shadow of Ford jump a bit.

"Ah...I slipped in the shower and the children came to see what was wrong. Just a little mistake." I tried to seem as sincere as possible but the desire to laugh was too much as Dipper and Mable immediately caught on and continued the story, making it much less believable. 

"Yeah Grunkle Ford we were just in our room-" Mable began and Dipper was nodding along.

"Sleeping!" He chimed in and Mable quickly agreed. 

"Yeah we were sleeping and there was this loud noise!" Dipper made an explosion sound to accentuate Mable's statement.

"So we ran to see what was going on and that's uhm why we're here."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed from the shower, still holding back a giggle. Though I couldn't see Ford clearly the aura of skepticism came off him in waves. The children were smart and knew their cue to leave before things got worse and quickly scuttled out of the room, their footsteps fading away down the hall. Ford's figure sighed visibly and he turned to leave as I shut the shower off. 

"Ah Ford? I'm sorry if I woke you." I couldn't tell if I was trying to stop him from leaving or not but he froze all the same and rubbed his head. I peaked out from behind the curtain again and smiled softly. He was disheveled from sleep, hair sticking up in places, and seemed to have fallen asleep in his clothes, sweater looking a bit wrinkled. He caught my eye with his gaze and blushed heavily, also realizing the shape of the situation.

"Oh no, I was working early and couldn't sleep so...but I must get back to work. I'll leave you to it." With cheeks still very red he turned to leave again and I furrowed my nose, wanting to talk to him longer. I don't know why but he made me feel so safe, I adored everything he talked about. He was so very intelligent when he would converse and I yearned to spend more time with him. I wasn't so foolish to not know what a crush was but this was neither the right time nor place to have one...yet still.

_Damn this difficult man...._

"Ford! Before you go could I have a towel please?" I smiled at him gratefully, hoping he wouldn't be too skeptical of the fact I could get it my own damn self. He turned back and nodded, reaching under the sink and pulling out a large, fluffy towel. He handed it to me while diverting his gaze and I quickly wrapped it around my body, stepping out of the shower to try and stop him from leaving again, maybe steal a conversation. I stepped took quickly and felt the ground slipping under my wet feet, gravity displacing itself seemingly for a moment. Falling forward I threw my hands up to prepare for impact and instead fell straight into Ford. Or at least he caught me. His hands on my shoulders, pushing me back to a standing position now. My hands on his chest as they had braced for impact. Our eyes locked on each others. His eyes were so intense, so big. I could stare at them forever. We stood like that for too long, electricity sparking on my bare skin where his hands were....or so it felt. In that moment I wanted him to kiss me so badly it almost hurt. He made no move but he didn't remove his hands from me either. Without thinking I shifted my weight forward again, leaning into his hands. It was this small shift, I saw his eyes flash fire for a moment, when my towel suddenly came unwrapped and slipped to the floor. 

 

I gasped instinctively and he was turned away in a flash, but I saw his eyes. They had looked down....they had looked. I quickly gathered my towel and wrapped it back around me but there would be no conversation tonight. He was already half way out the door, saying nothing and I felt my cheeks grow red in embarrassment. I followed him out into the hallway, in hopes of apologizing and froze as I saw Stanley at the end of the hall, wife beater and boxers his choice of bed time attire. 

_Well apparently everyone will see me barely clothed tonight.._

Ford's back was to me but he was frozen as well, all three of us assessing the situation. I in a towel wondering what on earth Stanley thought, Ford coming out of a bathroom that I was only in a towel in wondering what Stanley was thinking and so hot in the face that he could barely think straight and finally Stanley watching his brother walk out of the bathroom with the girl he thought so pretty barely clothed. The tension was thick and Stanley decided to do what he always did, utilize laughter and silliness.

"Wow toots, out sporting the goods tonight?!" He laughed, slapping a knee. I turned bright red and pulled the towel tighter around me. Ford turned an even angrier shade and that's because he was in fact incredibly angry. 

"Stanley that is horribly inappropriate." Ford spoke through gritted teeth, furious that his brother would speak about his-...no no, not his. Furious that his brother would speak about  _the_ girl that was residing in their home.

Stanley shrugged and went to walk back down the hall towards the kitchen. "Not my fault, you were the one in there..." He called back to his brother and Ford made an ugly noise in his throat before turning back to me and looking like he would speak. He instead softened his gaze and turned on a heel, rushing away. I still stood in shock from the last 20 minutes, not knowing how to handle any of it. 

_I think I need a cocoa and a lie down..._


	5. Something Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Race ya to the bottom of the stairs!

The day moved on as if nothing had happened...at least for the kids. I felt a massive tension in the air, noticed how Stanley and Ford would push past each other, barely speaking. I didn't understand why this had been such a big deal. Sure Stanley had made a crude comment at me but it wasn't really that offensive and Ford....Ford made his intentions very clear last night. Those intentions were not involving me at all. I sighed, sitting cross-legged on my bed, pining over a Pines. Today I was going to smooth things over with Stanley if there was anything to smooth and ask if they might be able to take me into town to buy some clothes so I could stop wearing ill-fitted t-shirts and woolly sweaters made by the talented and glitter happy Mable. I had also had a plan to talk to Ford, see about his research and if I could help any now that I was feeling better, but the thought of him refusing disheartened me enough to not want to try. 

Standing and stretching my tired legs, I had never gone back to sleep, I moved downstairs to look for someone else that was awake. The smell of burning wafted out from the kitchen and my stomach growled angrily in response. 

_Oooooo I'm hungry...._

My nose as a hound dog I followed the smell into the kitchen, expecting Stanley or Mable who were usually the ones cooking, and instead saw Ford standing over the stove, scratching his chin in confusion. In one hand was a box of instant eggs, in the other was an unopened pound of sausage. On the stove was a buttered pan, at least he got that far, but he seemed thoroughly confused at what to do next. It was adorable, the perplexed expression on his face and I chuckled from the door way, causing him to look up sharply. There was that softened gaze again, like....like.....I couldn't place why he looked at me like that. It seemed like a sweet gaze but his actions didn't reflect that at all. 

He responded with a chuckle, the smile lighting up his face in an expression I hadn't seen yet and I felt my heart jump a little. "I don't often cook, thought it might be a nice gesture." He waved the eggs in the air and I nodded in return. The tension seemed non-existent now, like nothing really had happened, and I felt my heart grow a sprout of hope again. A hope I very quickly stepped on and ground back into the dirt because I had no business liking this man nor hoping he liked me nor picturing his lips on mine....

I quickly pulled myself from the thoughts and walked over to the stove. "Do you want some help? We could exchange favors?" I laughed and wiggled my eyebrows at him suggestively and he turned beet red. I laughed harder and snorted, causing him to start laughing. The mess that we were, laughing in the kitchen next to a hot stove not cooking anything at all. When we finally calmed he glanced at me cautiously and asked what favor I needed before committing to anything.

"Oh, I just need to go to some kind of store. I need new clothes like nobodies business." Sounding sheepish and a little embarrassed to ask without really knowing why, but Ford's eyes got wide and he nearly palmed a hand through his face. 

"I can't believe we didn't think about that! Do you want me to have Stanley take you down?" He rushed the sentence out and I had a moment to wonder how such a smart man was so very clueless. I sighed audibly and shook my head, wondering if I should actually say something or let it drop. I opted with the first option because why not, I'm a confident girl. 

"No, I was actually kind of hoping you could take me. I could help you make breakfast?" I tried to taper the hope and enthusiasm in my voice but it wasn't easy. I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he looked at me, through me, thinking. Finally he grimaced and shook his head.

"I really have a lot of work to do...I'm trying to get you home. I'll ask Stanley to take you down though." Even though I had expected the answer it still stung. How could I feel so strongly for someone when they kept giving obvious signs they weren't interested. I was shocked to feel tears welling again, then angry that they were and turned on my heel. It's not that I was unappreciative of what he was doing...just conflicted by my own emotions.

"I'll just ask Stanley myself." I called over my shoulder and left the kitchen in a rush. No sense in hanging around where I wasn't wanted.

* * *

Stanley was standing on the other side of the kitchen, in the living area, watching the interaction. He wasn't the most stealthy person but the two were too engrossed in each other to pay attention to the fact that he was there. He watched as his brother acted like a total idiot. This girl was throwing herself at him and he wasn't even offering the time of day. Stanley was so annoyed at Ford, this girl was gorgeous and smart...he barely knew her and wanted to switch places with his brother for a chance with her. He grimaced as she rushed away, tears obvious, and his brother stood there dumbly not knowing what he had done. Ford was offering her all he knew how to give, a solution to a problem. Watched as Ford set the eggs and sausage on the table, sat down and buried his face in his hands. Stanley wondered for a brief moment if his brother was lonely and then quickly shoved the thought off. He did this to himself. He didn't want companionship, he had been given plenty of chances for that and not just by this girl. But Stanley himself. Stan shoved his hands in his pockets and went to find the girl residing in their home. 

* * *

I left the kitchen and went outside, breezing past the park bench and shuddering, remembering Bill's last encounter with me. I wasn't going to ask Stanley for help at all, or Stanford or anybody for that matter. I'd walk to town myself. After that I'd just stay there until they could get me home. 

_I feel like such a burden....I didn't ask for this...._

I angrily swept more tears off my face, starting the trudge towards town. There was only one path away from the Mystery Shack big enough to be a road and I figured that was the road I needed. I had only made it about half a mile before my leg started throbbing, the dull ache growing and receding with every other step. I stopped for a moment to rest it and looked around for something that could pass as a walking stick. I hobbled into the forest a bit, finally finding a large branch that fit what I needed quite nicely, and realized I'd gone a bit further than intended. The road was still visible and I took a few steps towards it before freezing, the crackle of branches behind me loud. Turning quickly I realized there was nothing there chalked it up to being the wind, wandering towards the road again. Back on the road and the track towards town I got the eerie feeling that something was following me several times but never saw anything around. By the time I reached the top of the hill and could see the town goose flesh covered my arms and I was chilled to the bone. 

_This town is so damn creepy...._

The dirt road became gravel at some point, a bit harder to walk on but the town wasn't far off and I had done it all on my own. It didn't seem like it was even past official breakfast time yet. I had a steady pace going, finally becoming less nervous the closer to town I got. Once arriving in town and realizing there wasn't much to it other than 3 main roads and shops on either side, I found an old looking clothing store that had a surprisingly okay selection of clothing. Grabbing a couple of outfits and some much needed underclothes, I felt incredibly lucky that my wallet had been dragged through that time rip with me. I paid the old man at the front, feeling like he was eyeing me suspiciously the whole time, but all he did was wish me a good day and I left. Walking out of the store, sun high in the sky, I saw a library and grinned. I would love to take some books back to the shack. Walking into the church like building I noticed that not a single person was around. Not even an attendant. Shrugging I made my way through the rows, finding a few horror novels by my favorite author Ktephan Sing (the K was silent), and moved onto the mechanics section. The engineering portion had all of 6 books, each dustier than the last. I still grabbed two of them and made my way back up to the front. Still no attendant. 

_I don't want to just take them...._

I was in no rush to go anywhere, assuming Ford and Stanley would put together that I had come up into town on my own, and settled into an old armchair with To Engineer is Human. It would be a lucky guess to say that I fell asleep within 5 minutes of reading, curled into the chair and exhausted from the walk. I wish I hadn't fallen asleep.

 

_"Well well **Well**.  **Someone's looking desperate."**_

 

 

 


	6. Something Bill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Name's Bill Cipher, and I take it you're some kind of living ventriloquist dummy?

_"_ _Well well **Well**.  **Someone's looking desperate."**_

His voice filled my head and I gasped, eyes flying open, immediately trying to locate him. Bill. I wouldn't say I was any more prepared for this encounter than the last but I had to do something to make this stop, no matter what. I scanned the room, still in the library, and gasped at the scene. Some books turning to ash as my eyes passed them, others melting into cream colored lava peppered with legible words that made no sense to my mind. The bookshelves were melting like a bad....or good Dali. I shuddered and stood up, still keeping an eye for the gold, triangular man. His cackle boomed through the room, resonating in every last corner and it took all my mental might to not cry and huddle into a ball. I had to confront him. 

_What was his name again...Ben...ah no...uhm Bo-_

**_"BILL!"_** He suddenly appeared in front of me and I jumped back, screaming and knocking the chair backwards. My head bounced on the wall behind the chair and I hissed in anger and pain. Quickly rising I attempted to glare at him only to feel pain course through my head again. He giggled...or at least that's what I thought the noise he made was...and sat cross-legged in the middle of the air.

" _ **The name's Bill of course. What a shame you couldn't remember! I would've had a screaming prize for you!"**_ He shouted and shrugged, suddenly holding a screaming head. Just as I began to scream at the awful thing Bill snapped his fingers and made it disappear, leaving my shriek to fizzle out into the nothingness of the library. I took a moment to regain my composure, all under his ugly gaze, and braced my feet firmly on the ground.

"I'm not interested in your games. I want you to leave me alone." I surprised myself with the fierceness of the statement, momentarily proud. That pride quickly turned to anger as he feigned surprise and sadness.

 _ **"Leave you alone?! Why it's almost like you don't like me!"**_ He floated around me for a moment and before looking idly at his hand as if picking his nails.  _ **"But kid, you can't dislike the guy that could get you home! The only guy that can!"**_

I shook my head at him, noticing for the first time that I couldn't feel those awful fingers prodding at my mind. It didn't make the situation any easier but at least less distracting. 

"Ford is perfectly capable of getting me home and I told you before I don't want your deal, whatever it is." 

Bill laughed at me again, it was getting pretty annoying, but it didn't fill the room nor my mind with an aching sound. It sounded...like a normal laugh.

 ** _"Alright broken heart, have it your way. Put all of your faith into a man who decided not to build the machine to bring you home."_** He shrugged and I knew he was baiting me...but....my curiosity was too strong.

"What....what do you mean?" My voice trembled a bit and I steeled it, reminding myself he was trying to trick me into doing what he wanted. Bill rolled his hands around each other and conjured a portal between them, showing a rippling pool of water. Behind the water Ford and Stanley were talking in a large mechanical room, in front of a large mechanical ring. I could barely make out what they were saying but heard clear as day "...there doesn't seem to be another way to get her back..." 

Before I could listen any further Bill's spindly hands clapped the portal shut and he flew back a few paces. I looked down at the ground angrily, and shook my head. "You're tricking me. I'm sure that Ford can get me home. I don't even know what you are." Throwing an angry hand up where the portal had just hung and then sweeping it around the room I rose my voice. "On top of that, that stupid portal doesn't prove anything. You have nothing to bargain against me." Bill hung there a moment, thinking about something intently and then lowered himself to make eye contact between his giant eye and mine.

 _ **"You know, I'm impressed with you. You're smarter than you look. I'll let you off the hook for now. I'll offer you one more deal! Give ya some time to think it over and if you don't want it I'll stop showing up during your sleeptimes!"**_ He seemed eager, the most human emotion I had seen him show yet, and I felt the urge for a moment to do just what he wanted. It would probably be easier. I saw his eyes flash and once again would've sworn a grin was across his face. 

"I won't do a deal with you Bill."

 ** _"Whoa whoa broken heart, like I said, THINK about it! You can do that right?! You can think!! I would've already won you over if you couldn't. Forget the going home deal since you've got so much faith in you Fordy-Poo. This deal is easy. You let me come into your world for a day and I'll answer all your questions. All your curiosities. About Gravity Falls, about elusive Ford, about everything! JUST THINK ABOUT IT!"_** With a final shout he began swirling top to bottom until he became a vortex within himself and popped out of exsistence. 

_Information._

I'd always craved information, loved it. Loved to learn about new things, especially up close. I read everything I could get my hands on. It obviously wasn't coincidence that he knew how much I loved it....but I was still so confused about this place. What could it hurt? I could have answers to everything I wanted. What did he mean by into my world for a day....obviously it was a bad idea but how could I give that to him? My mind still racing I barely noticed my eyes getting dark around the edges and had enough time to think 'Oh this again' before falling back into the chair and passing out. 

* * *

 

I woke up to being shaken. There was no fear or surprise this time, clearly remembering falling asleep in the library. I looked up and saw Stanley there, smiling down at me and I laughed. 

"Oh no....I've been caught." I joked up at him and he laughed back, though seemed a bit uneasy. 

"No kidding toots, napping in the library? You're a regular delinquent." He grinned as I groggily sat up and looked around. The library was milling about with people and I already saw a couple I recognized. The red haired girl that worked at the shack was there. I thought it was funny how Dipper followed her everywhere. Soos, another shack employee was there as well. He looked over just as I saw him and waved happily and I shot him one right back. For someone stranded in a different time and place at least I was stranded around good people. "Soos said he saw you come in here and I uh figured I'd come check on you....did you walk here?" Stanley seemed oddly abashed, rubbing his arm as he asked the question, like he wasn't used to caring enough about someone to check up on them.

"I did yeah, didn't want to bother anyone up at the house so I just figured...why not." I shrugged and then looked down, feeling bad. I figured they wouldn't miss me. Stanley was a kind man, if not rough around the edges. I watched him rub his head and stand up from crouching over the arm chair and offer a hand.

"Want a ride back to the shack?" He painted his normal grin back on his face and I nodded, taking his hand and standing. Looking at all of their happy faces, thinking about the happy kids back at the shack, I made the decision. I wouldn't tell them about my dream with Bill. Or if I decided to take his deal.

_What's the worst that could happen?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15


	7. Something Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YOU! You can't even imagine what you just cost me! Do you have any idea what I'm like WHEN I'M MAD??!!

We made it back up to the shack without anything strange happening, at least strange in Gravity Falls terms. The shack had never looked so inviting and though it wasn't my home, I was happy to be here. Stanley had chattered the whole way home about this and that, apparently the town's Mayor had just died but nobody was very surprised because of how old he was. I laughed at the jokes he made, only encouraging him, and before long he was acting like a monkey riding a walrus and I was laughing so hard my eyes were watering. He helped me out of the truck and I winced a bit as my leg hit the ground, still sore from the walk. Stanley looked it over and determined it needed to be wrapped again.

"No no it's fine for now, I want to sit outside a bit in relax." I protested, smiling up at the nice day. I felt happier than I had in days, like a huge weight had lifted off my shoulders though I wasn't sure why. 

"I could re-wrap it out here if you want?" Stanley offered and I saw a gleam in his eye. Nodding with a smile I agreed and he rushed inside to get the bandages as I chose a seat on the porch. Once again I thought of how kind he was and a sad smile crossed my face, knowing that my heart was after Ford but had it been after Stanley it probably would've been much better off. 

Waiting for him to come back there came a loud commotion from around the side of the house followed by screams of glee. Next thing I knew the younger twins were running to the front yard, launching brightly colored water balloons through the air. Dipper hit Mable smack in the face with one, causing her to fall back sputtering. She jumped right up and launched another back at him, locking her target but not expecting him to dodge roll at last second. The balloon came sailing towards me and I opened my mouth to shout but it was too late. Straight to the chest my over-sized t-shirt was soaked. Well it wasn't mine, it was borrowed from Stanley, regardless of that it was still soaked. Both kids froze and stared at me, still unsure how I would act when faced with such things. I looked down at the shirt, let out a loud laugh, and came down the stairs as quickly as my leg would let me. I stole a balloon from Dipper and squeezed it over Mable's head, causing a brief downpour. She shrieked and started running, ensuing the most silly and long water balloon of my laugh. We jumped and dodged, threw and smashed, team-upped, played every man for themselves, everything. In what seemed like an hour but was really only a few moments, we had used up all the balloons and were laying on the ground, breathing hard and all soaking wet from head to toe. I giggled like a child, I certainly felt like one, and heard the echo of the giggle through the children. As if on cue Stanley walked out of the house and stared down at us.

"GRUNKLE STAN!" Mable jumped up off the ground and ran to Stanley, leaping forward to hug him with the purest attempt of getting him wet. He shouted and tried to pull her off, only for Mable to start "nomming" on his arm. The whole scene was hilarious and Dipper and I were rolling on the ground laughing ourselves to tears again. After we had calmed down I made my way back up to the porch and Stanley. The kids scampered inside to change out of their wet clothes and I needed to do the same, grateful that I had just bought new ones. Stanley took one look at my shirt and then turned away.

"We should probably re-wrap your leg after you've changed."

I gave him a confused look and dropped my gaze down to the shirt only to see that it was very much see through when soaking wet. A massive blush passed my face and I crossed my arms quickly, wholesomely embarrassed. 

"OH ah Yeah I'll just go change, new clothes and what not...uh would you care to grab my bags from the truck and bring them up?" I asked, already halfway inside the house. Stanley nodded, a ghost of a grin gracing his features, and walked off the porch. I quickly made my way upstairs, catching a glimpse of the evening light through the stairway window, and into the guest room.

_Man it got late fast..._

I waited to undress so that I wouldn't have to answer the door completely nude when Stanley came back up, but he was taking longer than I thought he would. Standing in the middle of the room, shivering a bit, I started to think about the encounter with Bill today. Limitless information, any question I had answered. Nevermind my own curiosities, I could do big things in the world. Cure diseases, end wars. The thought was incredibly alluring...but also....how did I know that Bill had all these answers. It was obviously he was other-worldly but that didn't mean he was all powerful. His desire to get into this world seemed big too so there had to be a reason behind that. I chewed my lip, lost in thought and missed the knock on the door. What brought me out of my thoughts was hearing the creak of the door and I blinked, suddenly back to reality. 

_Oh damn it..._

I rushed to the door before it was open all the way, wanting to avoid another embarrassing situation. Too late for that. 

"Hello?" Ford's voice rang through the room as the door came fully open and I gasped involuntarily, covering my chest again. He froze and lowered his eyes to the floor, setting my bags down. "Stanley said to bring these up to you. I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things but I'll come back later." He turned back around and started to leave.

"No! Wait it's fine, talk to me now." I stopped him, arms still crossed tightly against my chest. "If you have new information about what's going on I want to know." There, that didn't seem like I was desperately trying to get him to stay for no reason.

Ford was blushing now, a sweet strawberry color, and he nodded. He actually agreed to stay. I was nearly dumb-founded. We both stood there silently for a moment, his blush clearing as he rose his gaze to look at mine. He was careful not to let his eyes stray down though I couldn't tell if he wanted to or not. We were both so tense. I felt stupid, like I should have told him to come back later instead of making the situation uncomfortable for the both of us. 

_This silence has been going on too long..._

He was the first to act, clearing his throat and keeping his eyes trained on mine. 

"So the way I was telling you about before, the way to get you home. I can build it but powering it is a different story. Also guiding it to drop you right where you left is going to take a lot of calculations and work. Finally, there is massive danger in running it, even just long enough to get you home. There are terrible things out there that desperately want into this world, to destroy. Nothing good will come from them getting into this world. But....with some work....we may be able to contain anything that would come out of it. It will absolutely require more research to prove the truth behind it. Not to mention the amount of time would be immense, might even take upwards of a year." As he spoke, the most I'd ever really heard him speak, his face lit up. He loved information just as much as I did and I could see the prospect of a project that would take so much of his time delighted him. Evil or not, creation is fun. 

I was delighted by the news, how long it took didn't even bother me. "A year?" That amount of time seemed so small, especially seeing as I jumped 5 into the future. 

He nodded, frowning. "Yes I'm sorry but we must take every precaution necessary." Running a hand through his hair apologetically, he looked down at the ground. I laughed, a joyful sound and he looked back up in surprise.

"This is amazing! I can't believe you could actually get me home!" I was truly excited, excited that Bill had been wrong, excited for the project to come. I tapered myself down and took the two strides it took to be in front of him. Reaching forward my hand found his shoulder and I gripped it tightly.

"Ford...will you please let me help you. I was studying engineering, I know so much about mechanics." It was nearly a beg, a plea of some kind. I wanted to badly to help. He tilted his head and smiled softly. 

"I will need an assistant to help me through. My previous one is in no shape really to help...nor would he ever help me build it." Ford had to bite his tongue to not say the word 'again'. "So yes...you can help me." 

I could barely hold back a shriek, bouncing forward and hugging Ford as tightly as I could manage. He seemed startled, immediately tense against me, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the way it felt. Appreciation and thanks rushed out of me and he nodded over and over, though not trying to stop the hug that was going on for much longer than a normal hug. I quieted finally, still not making a motion to move back, and simply rested my head in the crook of his neck. He let out a shuddered breathe and squeezed me a bit harder. I was pleasantly surprised, not caring in the moment what it meant. He repeated my motion, hesitantly and a little awkwardly with how much taller than I he was, and I could feel his breathe against my neck. It was hot, flowing over my skin. There was nothing I could do to hold back a tiny shudder and he immediately reacted to that, pushing his mouth closer until his lips touched my neck. An odd noise escaped my mouth and he pulled back quickly, staring down at me. 

"I-I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me." Ford made a move to push me away from him but I held fast, pushing my still wet clothes up against his sweater. 

"You're a very confusing man Ford..." I kept my eyes locked on his and leaned up, hoping he would close the distance. He raised his eyebrows at me before sighing, as if resigning against his own feelings, and dipped his head down. His lips met mine, strong and full, and I melted against him. I could feel his heart race so close to my chest and I pushed harder against him, feeling our teeth clack. Our mouths opened together and began to explore, tongues where ever they wanted to be. The feelings were everywhere, need, lust, whatever you needed to call it. I couldn't stop and neither could he and it was a wonderful feeling. His hands slowly grazed up my arms, each resting on my shoulders. I smiled as we kissed, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up as well and pressed my whole body against his.

_I must be dreaming..._


	8. Something Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buy Gold

I smiled as we kissed, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up as well and pressed my whole body against his.

_I must be dreaming..._

I opened my eyes and saw him, the man I'd been pining after for days...had it really only been days? It felt like so much longer. He opened his eyes as well, saw me staring up at him and slowly pulled away from my mouth, breathing considerably a bit harder now than when he had first come in the room. The same blush crept up on his face and I had the brief consideration that this wasn't something he was used to. He pulled back a bit and smiled, the light in his eyes strong and full. 

"This is incredibly inappropriate, I'm sure you're awa-" He began and I put a finger to his lips, shaking my head.

"Try not to think about it." I replied, as coyly as possible though much out of character for me. He took my hand from his mouth and sighed, though it wasn't a sad noise. 

"I think about everything, it's in my nature really." It did seem probable that Ford thought through every little thing in life, obsessing over small things. I pulled back my hands which had snaked around his neck and placed them against his chest, feeling that quick heartbeat again.

"And what exactly do you think of this?" I asked patiently, though all I wanted was his lips on mine again. I was suddenly so sure that it would never happen again. 

"I think...that you are a very strange woman." He replied after some consideration. I frowned at that, not exactly the response to put my worries at ease and pulled back further. Only to find my face captured in his hands before I could pull to far. "And I adore strange things."

His mouth was back on mine in an instant, warm and hungry in every way I wanted it to be. This kiss was stronger than before and I felt his hands move hesitantly up my arms again, then back down. Though my clothes were wet my body was hot underneath them, so much so that I would have sworn steam would rise if possible. Ford's hands reached mine and grasped them soundly, as if he didn't want to let go. I wrapped my arms back around his neck, pulling myself to a higher point against his body and relishing in the way it felt. He was toned, more so than you could tell under the large sweater and coat he wore no matter the weather. He responded quickly to the movement, hesitant hands becoming more confident and grasping my waist. I let out a low breathe and he pulled me closer, by my waist now, and I could feel his length against me. It was a gasp that left me now, one covered by his advancing mouth and we stood there a moment like that. Pulling away quickly to breathe and maybe catch a glimpse of his eyes, I was caught off guard as his mouth was now on my neck. Kissing first, then the slight pull of teeth and I shuddered compellingly. 

I ran my hands down his back as he teased my neck, anticipation growing by the second. I could feel the heat in my stomach, growing and yearning, an ache for him. I reached the bottom of his back and used my nails now, running them lightly back up. He groaned, god what an amazing sound, and I was suddenly off my feet and in his arms. He made for the bed, no hesitation in his mind and I ran my hands through his hair, pulling as hard as I dared. We didn't make it to the bed. He turned to the nearest wall and shoved my back against it, with that all gentleness gone. I let out a breathy laugh, nervous for no reason, and he pulled back long enough to grin at me. I pulled my legs away from him, standing shakily and bracing a hand against the wall. He took the moment to run his large hands up my chest and capture my breasts, squeezing and I squirmed, a moan leaving me now. He ran his thumbs lightly over my nipples, saw the bucking response that warranted, and then ran over them again harder. I had never been teased like this and my body reacted well, nerve endings tingling and hot liquid pooling. I couldn't wait any longer, not sure who was holding back more, and I stripped the wet shirt off my body. 

Ford looked down at me and immediately curved his arms around my back, unclasping my bra as if it were nothing.

_Maybe I shouldn't have underestimated him...._   


His hands reached for my breasts again, thumbs running over my hardened nipples and I strained my body against the wall. His mouth dipped down and wrapped around one hungrily. I all but melted against him, trying to find leverage, hands clawing into his back. I wanted him so much. Not soon as the thought entered my brain his free hand slipped down towards my shorts, finding access easily through the elastic. Suddenly self-conscious I went to apologize for my lack of underclothes but could only let out a strangled gasp as his hands ran over my wetness. He groaned against my breast and brought his mouth up to mine again, though I could barely think enough to kiss. His fingers ran over me, only growing wetter, and I bit his lip softly. 

"Forrrd..." The word moaned out of me and it was all the motivation he needed to plunge his fingers into me. I grew weak in the knees, pulling him closer to hold me up as he began to pump his fingers in and out of me, slow and deep. He quickly picked me up again, fingers still inside yet now deeper and I had to bite my own lip to stop from shouting. He laid me down on the bed and made quick work of removing my shorts, leaving me completely naked. In embarrassment I crossed my arms against my chest but he grabbed them from me with one hand, pulling them above my head. His fingers found my wetness again and plunged in completely, moving them quickly with my own movement. I writhed against him, a moaning mess, until pulling my hands free and clawing at his sweater. He removed his hand from me and I whimpered a bit, but was soon satisfied as his sweater came off in a quick swoop. I pulled at his belt and pants, as did he, and they were soon off too. He was now hovered above me, hand running up and down my most sensitive spots in quick motions, other hand braced against the bed next to me. I could feel the heat growing inside me, the orgasm not far away. I reached forward and took his large length in my hand. He buckled then, slowing his pace and gritting his teeth. 

I couldn't wait, needed him inside me. I guided him down and he looked up into my eyes, a last second confirmation. I pulled his head towards mine, my lips meeting his hard and that was all it took. With one movement he was buried inside me and I let out a gasp into his mouth. He quickly found a rhythm and began pumping against me, deeper with every movement, until I was crying out against him. His breathe came hard and fast, one hand wrapped in my hair with my mouth pulled against his, the other snaking its way down to rub over me and I felt the orgasm growing again. I moaned his name again and he quickened the pace, pushing me over the edge. The orgasm grew and grew, my body bucking and shaking, his hand and body never relenting. The warmth spread fast through me and I felt myself squeezing tightly around him, unable to contain the pleasure. He trembled for a moment, pulling his mouth back and looking down at me. His pumping slowed and I realized he had finished as well, or at least was currently. I squeezed against him again and he collapsed onto me, still bucking his hips against mine. I could feel him filling me and loved every second of it. Finally he slowed and shuddered against me. I looked up into those honey brown eyes and nearly laughed.

"Wow." 


	9. Something Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy these arms are durable

We sat across from each other, the silence awkward and loud. I had the sheets of the bed pulled tightly around myself and Ford had at some point pulled on all of his clothes except that long jacket, perching on the end of my bed. There was no real reason for things to be awkward though I think Ford may have been a bit embarrassed with himself. I sighed, scrubbed my face with steady hands and scooted closer to him.

"Am I still allowed to be your assistant?" I asked hesitantly, not quite looking up at him. His eyes widened a bit and he looked down, straight through me, mouth slightly agape.

"What?" His voice was soft and I couldn't tell if that meant angry or not.

"Oh...I understand if not...I'm sorry..." My reply was shaky and a bit disappointed but I did understand. What had happened wasn't exactly the outcome I expected but desire does strange things to people.

Ford looked at me indecorously and then began to laugh. I jumped a bit in surprise at the sudden outburst and stared at him. Had the man gone crazy? He laughed for a moment more and then began to quiet. His laugh was fantastic, joyous, and the grin that accompanied it was even better.

"Of course I still want you as my assistant. I mean...this was certainly unexpected but it doesn't change much really." He chuckled again and then looked back down at me, suddenly frowning. My eyes were pricked with tears and he saw that immediately, face growing red. Damning my inability to hold back emotion well, I quickly wiped them away.

"No! No that's not what I meant....I uh..." He sighed heavily and pushed loose glasses back up his nose. "Listen....I really have no experience with this kind of thing at all. What just happened was wonderful and out of nowhere really. My mind works calculations, not emotions." I could see he was struggling to tie his point together and stepped in.

"Out of nowhere? I'd have thought I made my intentions pretty well known..." Tilting my head a bit I watched for his expression and sure enough surprise dawned upon that handsome face.

"Really now? I don't have an idea what you mean." He shrugged softly and grinned a bit. I returned the smile and looked down at my bare feet, wiggling all ten toes.

"Does that mean you would want to do this again?" A hesitant question from me, concerned for the answer. Ford was such a strange man, it was difficult to know what to expect from him. When I looked back up his face was beet red, stammering to find words.

"We have a lot of work to do you know." Are the words he finally settled on, staring straight at the floor, face still red. "We start in the morning. I'll take you to my lab after breakfast." He stood quickly, stumbling forward and grabbing his jacket from the floor. I tried to hide the smile on my face and was managing fairly well until he turned back to me. I looked up at him from the bed, curious, and he bent down to face me at eye level. Suddenly his lips were on mine and just as soon as they came they were gone and he was on his way out the door. I was shocked. Nothing like the kisses we had shared not an hour prior this was quick, not cold but almost calculated. Sighing from the bed, I fell back onto the sheets and stared up at the ceiling, body still warm and needing a shower. I wanted to take a moment to savor this though.

'Screw you Bill, I don't need your deal.'

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After a long, hot shower I dressed in one of the new outfits, a simple pair of black pants and blue plaid shirt, and made my way downstairs. Night had fallen, though it didn't seem too late, and the kids were still watching TV in Stan's 'Man Cave'. It was either join them or go to bed and I was nowhere near tired, which is the story of how I was introduced to a children's show about a Detective Duck. It was strange, written like a soap opera with a terrible sound producer, but I laughed when the kids did and that was nice. This place was so nice. Often times I would feel lonely at home, curled up with a book or watching TV with just my dog. I had never found someone who caught my interest enough to pull me away from the massive amount of time an engineering degree took. Until now that was. Not noticing the show coming to an end or the kids nearing, my thoughts too encompassing, I jumped when Mable poked me.

"HEY!" She shouted, in that shrill voice that was somehow awful and adorable at the same time. "Whatcha thinking about?" I half laughed half coughed and shrugged, looking between the two.

"Not much really, that show you were watching was strange." I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, still pulling away from the last of my thoughts and Dipper awkwardly spoke up.

"Yeah ha-ha strange. You know what else is strange monster hunting is strange we should go hunt for a monster wouldn'thatbeweirdhahaha..."

I stared at the sweaty child, one eyebrow raised and Mable started laughing, delivering a solid punch to her brother's arm.

"Oh bro-bro you are SOOOOOO awkward!" She kept laughing, shoving a finger into Dipper's cheek and twisting. Dipper pulled back quickly and rubbed his cheek, glaring up at his twin.

"What he meant was he wants to go on a stupid nerd mission and he needs help! Annnnd Grunkle Ford is too busy right Dipper?" Dipper's glare hardened and he nodded.

"Yeah I couldn't find him when I went to ask earlier. This thing can only be located at night too so I was wondering if you guys would go with me." He rubbed his arm sheepishly and looked at the ground. Now it was my turn to laugh awkwardly, nodding a bit took quickly. Good thing children were blind to this kind of thing.  
  
"I wonder where he couldn't have gotten off to..." I replied, immediately cringing at my own words. Mable gave me a strange look and I quickly dismissed her by standing.

"Let's go monster hunting guys!" Dipper jumped up in excitement, high fiving me and Mable ran off to change into her adventure sweater, whatever that meant. When she returned Dipper and I were already waiting at the door, his pack full of supplies that he said we needed. Neither explained what we were looking for and I figured one of them would explain once we got out there. I laughed, actually excited for what we were about to do. Out we went into the lovely night, starry sky so bright above us it illuminated all  
the way to the edge of the trees. After that it was all flashlights.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stanley watched from the kitchen as the kids dragged their poor guest along on some confounded adventure. He would have protested, she really was in no shape to be heading out like that, but the kids were smart and wouldn't go far. Besides, he had a bone to pick with Ford. After he had retrieved the bags of clothes from his truck and meandered back inside he realized his clothes were much more wet than he previously thought. Ford had been in the living room and Stanley shoved the bags at him, telling him to take them up to the guest room without much of a thought before going to change himself. After getting a fresh suit on he had went to find her to rewrap that leg. Instead he had nearly walked in on her and his brother....  
It had made his blood boil. He hadn't figured he had much of a chance with this girl but he would have been such a better choice than his cold, sciencey brother who wouldn't know what to do with a woman if she hit him in the face. Worse than that his heart ached a bit, he'd gotten way too attached to her. And while his stupid brother was down in that lab Stanley had taken care of her, made her food, made her smile. Now Ford was the one to win her over...it was unfair. Their entire life Ford had always been the 'better' twin. Once upon a time they had been close but that time wasn't now.

Stanley opened the drink machine with a loud hiss and stomped down the stairs, wanting to make sure he was heard before seen. Sure enough, once he reached the bottom, Ford was already looking up from his desk and towards the stairs. He immediately recognized anger on his brother's face and sighed.

"What's wrong Stanley?" The question was honest, he didn't have the slightest idea why his brother was angry now. Stanley shot him a nasty look and crossed his arms.

"Oh I think you know the answer to that..." He replied curtly and Ford stared at him a moment before shaking his head.

"I really have no idea. I have a lot of work to do though so if you could tell me that would be nice." Ford really didn't have a lot of time to bicker with his brother, needing to reorganize the lab tonight for the addition of an assistant tomorrow. It wasn't exactly the cleanest at this moment. Stanley snorted and grumpily threw his hands down at his sides.

"Ford you've got a lot of nerve you know. What gives you the right to sleep with that girl in our house?" He was outright now, seemingly angrier at his brothers inability to figure out common sense stuff. He was great at science and awful at human stuff. Ford froze, looking down at his desk for a moment before slowly shuffling a few pieces of paper.

"Stanley that doesn't seem like a very appropriate thing for me to discuss with you nor does it seem like your business." His reply was stiff and Stanley didn't like it at all.

"None of my business?!" He cried, hands in the air now. "I nursed her back to health, took care of her, while you were down here nerding it up over a portal you don't even know if you can fix!" Ford glared up at his brother now, papers left ignored.

"Is that what this is about? You think she owes you something because you took care of her?" Ford was irritated now, his own arms crossed.

Stanley made a rough noise and shook his head. "She doesn't owe me a damn thing. I just wish she'd made a better decision." He stepped a bit closer to his brother and sneered. "Sixer, you don't actually care about her."

Ford's face was growing red now and he pointed towards the stairs angrily.

"Go away Stanley. I will not have this argument with you. She is not an item." He spat the words at his twin, thinking about how absurd this argument was but knowing well and good how Stanley handled rejection. It wasn't well.

"I KNOW THAT!" Stan roared, anger coming full force now and Ford stepped forward with his hands up. "I know well and good she isn't an item. She deserves someone that can care about her! You won't do that. You're going to hurt her! You're gonna get her wrapped around your finger like everyone else is and then send her back to her time where you don't even exist yet!" Though he was still yelling Stan had brought the volume down. Ford thought through his brothers words for a moment, some of his anger fizzling. He looked back up at his twin and grimaced         .

"And what exactly would you do Stanley?" He asked, a bit dejected.

"Ask her to stay." The reply was simple and incredibly truthful. Ford could hardly believe it none the less.

"That's ridiculous and you know it. I'm done with this conversation. I urge you to stay out of my personal life." Ford attempted to conclude the conversation, not wanting to think about the subject any longer. It was painful.

"Ridiculous?! What you're doing to her is ridiculous Ford!" Stanley obviously wasn't done arguing.

"Leave Stanley, please." Another short response, Stanley was growing even angrier.

"No! Not until you get it! You don't get it Sixer! She doesn't deserve this! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!" Screaming again, Ford turned quickly to face his twin.

"GET OUT STANLEY!" Ford was screaming now as well, such a rare thing for him. Stanley didn't back down in the least, instead getting in Ford's face, making his head throb. This was too much stress.

"She picked wrong. I should have been the one kissing her. It should have been my hands on-" Stanley didn't get to finish the statement, Ford's fist making heavy contact with his face. Stanley gave a shout, pain jolting through his cheek and down his jaw and fell backwards, hitting the floor hard. Ford looked at his fist in shock and then at his             brother.


	10. Something Sinister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big things are coming Kid! Big Things!

Ford looked down at his brother horrified, his hand aching a bit and all the anger draining from his face.

"S-stanley I'm so sorry I don't know what came over me..." With a trembling voice he stepped forward to help his brother up but Stanley angrily shoved the six-fingered hand away and stood on his own, wiping the side of his mouth. That cheek was already swelling and needed ice.

"Whatever Poindexter. Do what you want, hurt her, it's not my problem." He stretched his jaw out, hearing an angry pop that sent pain jolting through it and began to climb the stairs. Ford made to follow him before thinking better of it. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He didn't consider himself a violent person but Stanley was able to bring out that anger so easily. Running a hand through his peppered hair Ford sat at the desk, staring at the papers below. What a mess everything was...

In the meantime Stanley reached the living room, giving the arm chair a solid kick and then yelping at the pain in his toe.

"FUCK!" The shout echoed through the house and made him feel a bit better. He wasn't angry at her, just hurt by the situation and was smart enough to know the difference. She wouldn't know anything had changed...

* * *

 

I moved quietly through the forest with the kids, a tad bit creeped by the darkness. The kids however seemed impervious to it, not scared of much in general and I envied that. We had just crossed through another clearing, flashlights swinging around the trees, when I decided to break the silence.

"So just exactly what are we looking for?" The question hung there for a moment before Dipper turned and looked at me, flashlight held up to illuminate his face from below.

"A....DEMON.." He nearly shouted the answer and I jumped in surprise, giving a small yelp, which in turned made him jump in surprise and give a small shriek. Mable looked between the two of us for a moment and fell to the ground, laughing and snorting.

"Oh my goodness you guys are SUCH SCAREDY PIGS!" She continued to chortle and I sighed, giving a chuckle myself. These kids were nuts. Dipper gave a nervous laugh and then circled his flashlight around once more.

"It's actually called the Hide Behind...I've never been able to actually see it but I'm holding out hope!" He gave a victorious decree and I shrugged, going along with it.

"Sure the hide behind that sounds like somethi-D-dipper....don't turn around..." I stared behind his shoulder, shivering and he froze, staring wide-eyed at me.

"Wha-wha-what is it?" His voice was shaking and my eyes widened, covering my mouth with a hand.

"It's MABLE!" It was my turn to shout now, stomping my foot forward as Mable rose up behind Dipper and body slammed him like a breeching whale. I'd never heard a boy screech so loud in my life as his sister wrestled him to the ground and began tickling him with mere pokes. I laughed heavily at the two, Dipper angrily smacking at his twin in between shouts to "Back off or pay" and "Come on Mable this isn't funny". Finally he managed to wrestle free of her and gave an angry pout, crossing his arms.

"Not funny guys....seriously I want to find this thing. Grunkle Ford never got a good look at it and it would be great for his research if I could help."

I laughed one last time, knuckle bumping Mable and we gathered ourselves back up to continue looking. We searched for another half an hour or so before Dipper gave a frustrated sigh. I sympathized with the kid, looking for something that only hid, but my leg was beginning to hurt and sleepiness was settling in behind my eyes.

"Dipper I know this monster hunt is important to you but I gotta head back soon." I gave my leg a rub to try and alleviate the pain and grimaced at the wet feeling. It must have bled through my pants again, though at least with black pants it was harder to tell. It was annoying ,the wound didn't seem to be healing at all, though the pain had receded decently from the original way it felt. Dipper nodded sadly, turning to face the direction home and shrugged.

"I guess this thing really is just a myth..." He gave a low shrug and I felt awful for him.

"Hey don't say that. I'll get extra rest tonight and tomorrow night we can go looking again okay?" He perked up immediately at the statement and Mable nodded quickly in agreement.

"Yeah Bro-beans! We'll have an even better adventure tomorrow!" She giggled happily and the smile Dipper gave this time was genuine enough to put my mind at ease. We began to make our way back to the Shack though I could have sworn I heard a rattling noise several times behind me. I must not have been the only one because Dipper kept swinging his flashlight behind us at the same time I heard it, never seeing anything at all. If this Hide-Behind was a real thing it was something made of  _nightmares._

Finally we were approaching the house, both kids looked more and more sluggish by the minute.

_It's late, they must be absolutely exhausted..._

I chuckled a bit at the thought, feeling that same exhaustion they showed and continued forward. The Shack looked nice at night, giving off an air of mystery that wasn't there much during the day. I'd call it creepy if it hadn't felt like so much of a home. The kids bounded up the stairs to the front door and I slowly followed them, leg giving off waves of pain. Once inside and safely sitting on the couch the pain fell a bit, enough for me to give warm smiles to the kids and wish them a good night. Listening to them bounce up the stairs, I laid my head back and closed tired eyes, just wanting a moments rest.

"Hey there.." A soft voice sounded next to me and I grinned a bit, opening my eyes to see Stanley. He had a large smile on his face and a bandage in one hand.

"Looks like you could use one of these." I nodded, looking down at the pants. Looks like the black didn't hide it so well in the light.

"Yeah, no kidding. I was off on an adventure with the kids looking for some shadow mon-Stanley! Your face!" I cut my statement short, shocked to see his lower face swollen huge on one side. A massive bruise was already forming there as well and well....it looked nasty. I hobbled up and began walking towards the kitchen to get some ice.

"Hey....hey! Take it easy, it's nothin really." He followed right behind, urging me to sit down but I wouldn't relent. Soon I had a plastic bag filled with ice and covered with a dish towel pressed against his face. Stanley let out a hiss of pain when it first touched but slowly let it stay so it must have been doing some kind of good.

 

"What exactly happened?" A bruise like that didn't come out of nowhere and my curiosity was getting the best of me. He shrugged and looked me over for a moment as if deciding something. 

"I'll tell you if you let me wrap that damned leg, it's bleedin everywhere." He wasn't lying, it had begun to seep to further parts of my pants. I nodded and slowly made my way to the guest room, peeling off the blood covered clothes and grimacing. Was it just me or was the wound spiderwebbing more? I hobbled back to the living room, considering documenting the change. Stanley gave a worried look at the leg and went to get a warm washcloth. He cleaned off the blood, there was an awful lot, applied an antibiotic cream and began to wrap. As he wound the bandage around my leg he told the awful story of a revengeful box of bobble heads that he was trying to get down from the inventory closet. He said he would've used a ladder but Soos had disappeared with it. Instead he climbed the shelves and grabbed the box, forgetting that he needed to still hold onto the shelves. As he mimiced the fall I laughed heartily and saw his eyes glimmer like Ford's did sometimes. Stanley really knew how to spin a story. 

"You poor thing, I can't believe the box attacked you like that." I laughed my way through the statement and Stanley cursed his poor luck.

"I win in the end, the box was destroyed!" He threw his leg up onto the T-Rex head table in a captain style, victorious and his back gave a loud pop.

"OW....OWW..." I dissolved into laughter and for the next little bit we sat and teased each other, talking about life and so on. At one point during these very few days I had considered the notion that being horribly attracted to Ford would mean equally being attracted to Stanley because They were twins, but they were two very different people. Stanley was still a fantastic man. I idly thought about how I had a best friend back at home that was just his type when he gave a great yawn.

"It's bed time doll, I'm beat. You get some rest." He stood, stretched and scratched his belly before holding out a hand to help me up. I stood, with some effort, and hobbled towards the hall. 

"Does Ford usually stay in his lab all night?" I could tell the question surprised Stanley as he froze for a brief moment before turning and nodding, his previous smile gone. 

"Yeah, every night since he's been back." He paused a moment, turning towards me. "Why?" 

I gave a nervous laugh and shrugged. "Just curious. He's very elusive. Will you help me to my room? I'm sorry to ask." I was hoping that Ford would be around to help me to my room but I hadn't seen him since what happened....

Stanley's face immediately brightened and he agreed, looping his arm around mine. We made our way to the guest room and said our good nights. He really was a sweet man. 

* * *

Stanley waited until her door was closed before letting his face grow cloudy again. Once again his stupid brother had been too busy to notice the amazing thing in front of him and Stanley had taken his place. Only for nothing in return. His heart ached a bit and he cursed his sensitive soul, well aware of the emotionally driven man he was. He walked the way to his own room, taking off his slippers and settling on the bed.

"What a situation you're in Stan..." He said to himself, laying down and looking up at the bland ceiling. It wasn't long before sleep took him.

Dreams came quickly, or so it seemed, and he found himself outside of the shack dressed in his normal suit. Another group of tourists was about to come through and He squinted towards them. 

'Man I need to get my eyes checked...' All of their faces were blurry and expressionless. He shrugged and went to greet them, stopping short as something whistled at him from the trees. He stuck a finger in one ear, wiggled and flicked away a bit of earwax. 

'Musta been my imagination.' He laughed and took another step forward before hearing the whistle again, louder now. Ignoring the tourists for a moment he followed the noise between the trees, pine needles crunching below his feet. He couldn't hear any of the normal nature sounds, no birds or wind, just that whistle. As the sound grew louder and louder he saw a well in the middle of a clearing. Stepping into the clearing the whistle abruptly stopped. He shuddered a bit at the unnatural silence and continued to the well, peering over its cobblestone walls and down with in. 

"Heeeeeeelllllllooooooo Stannnnleeyyyyy...." 

Stanley jumped as a voice wafted up from the darkness, soft and wispy. 

"Uh hey?" His reply sounded stupid even to him but the voice didn't seem to care. 

"I'mmmm a Bargggggaining Welllll, what doooo you desireeeee?" The voice called up to him and damned if dream logic wasn't a convincing thing. 

"Well Uhm...there's this girl." He didn't feel like launching into the whole story with a talking well but the voice cut him off there anyway.

"Youuuu dessssire herrr. Whaaattt willl you giveee mee?" Stanley stared at the darkness for a moment, he had no idea what talking wells wanted. 

"I could give you money?" Wells like money right? Was he crazy or did the well just sigh at him? 

"I do not desire your human money." The wispiness was gone from the voice. "I will give you the girl if you will help me out of this well." 

Stanley smacked a hand to his head, feeling foolish for not realizing it was someone stuck in a well and not a talking well. 

"Yeah! I'll get ya out of there!" Stanley's eyes widened as a golden hand stretched out of the darkness and up towards him. 

"You will let me out and I will give you the girl." Stanley nodded quickly and reached for the hand, grasping it soundly. The hand pumped his once and he heard a laugh around him. 

"Deal."

* * *

Stanley woke with a gasp, sitting bolt right up in bed. What a weird dream...


	11. Something Innocent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tRUsT nO oNE

Waking up from the best sleep I'd gotten since arriving in Gravity Falls was only the tip of my happiness for the day. I was finally able to be productive and aid Ford as an assistant, finally able to work towards going home. Swinging my legs over the bed I found that the bandages were soaked through, the pain not receded much since yesterday and I tugged at a corner of the bandage in exasperation.

_Why won't this stupid thing heal..._

I was beginning to think it may need stitches or some actual medical attention because it would be a lie to say I couldn't tell the blood loss was effecting me. Stanley was very helpful in keeping it wrapped with first aid ointment but he was no doctor. With a shrug I dismissed the thought and hobbled my way through a shower, dressing in the most professional outfit I had purchased, black slacks and a large green sweater that was oh so comfortable. The clock next to my bed said 6:23am and I wondered if that was still too early to go downstairs without waking everyone up. Throwing caution away I slowly descended the creaky stairs hearing the heavy silence of the house. It was an oddly nice feeling, walking around the house with the knowledge that I was the only one awake. Very peaceful. Entering the kitchen, somehow looking rustic and clean all at once, the thought to make breakfast dawned on me. It would be a small gesture for all they had done and it would keep me from going crazy thinking about working with Ford. 

The fridge didn't have a lot to offer, a few eggs, some milk and bread. I hmm'd to myself and realized I should tell Stanley to go grocery shopping. The pantry was a bit more well-stocked and it became evident the only thing I would be able to make would be pancakes. They could at least be a little fancy. Setting to work I mixed up my pancake mix, adding a little of this and a little of that. Finding some candy hidden on a higher shelf I chucked in the little peanut butter chocolate pieces as well. Though I preferred fresh fruit in pancakes I'm sure Mable would appreciate this kind more. Heating up the stove I bent down to search through several cabinets for a pan of some kind or griddle or something. Man these men had no idea how to have a home with children. They needed a woman's touch. 

Humming to myself some catchy pop song that was now 5 years old but brand new to me I spotted a pan at the back of a cabinet and had to get on my knees to reach it. 

_In the very back of course, why not, that makes the most sense..._

"Hey there, whatcha up to?" I yelped in surprise at the sudden voice, smacking my head on the lip of the drawer. Quickly pulling myself out of the cabinet I rubbed my head and stared grumpily up at Stanley.

"You know it's rude to sneak up on people though your family seems to enjoy it a lot." I tried to keep the amusement out of my voice but Stanley saw the ghost of my smile and laughed, shrugging.

"Sheesh kid it's like you're jumpy or something. So what are ya doing anyway?" He looked around at the mess I'd made while preparing the sugar coma inducing pancakes and I cracked a large grin. 

"Making breakfast! I thought it would be fun. Sorry for the mess." He laughed again, poking a piece of chocolate in the pancake bowl and I nudged him out of the way with my hip.  "Hey! Don't touch the goods!" I was laughing along with him, stepping between him and the bowl, pan now in hand. Behind me I didn't see his eyes flash yellow or feel him step a bit closer.

"Oh I'll touch what I want..." The words were almost whispered, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. The room felt heavy all of the sudden and gooseflesh covered my arms. Had he really just said that? I set the pan down on the stove, slowly turning to face him and just seeing normal old Stanley, beaming at me. The atmosphere was immediately lifted, everything felt fine. I tilted my head a bit and Stanley's smile dropped, giving me a confused look.

"Everything okay doll?"

I nodded, forcing a smile back onto my face. "Yeah I just guess I'm hearing stuff.." There's no reason to be freaked out even if he had said that, right? I let the discomfort fade away, realizing I must not have heard him correctly. It had been so soft it was more than possible.

_I need to stop freaking myself out so much..._

Stanley helped me finish up breakfast, the aroma of chocolate goodness drifting through the house and slowly bringing the kids downstairs. Stanley and I were having a fantastic time, nothing else strange happening. He also, very rudely I might add, had booped my nose with flour. It wouldn't have been such a problem if his hands weren't so big and now half my face was covered in flour. In a bit of an overkill move he now had egg running down one shoulder because of my return assault. I set the plates on the table, bringing over a tower of pancakes just as Ford showed up for breakfast too. I felt my cheeks grow warm, so happy to see him, so happy to be in this moment. As much as I knew I needed to go home, this was the best placebo life I could ask for in the meantime. 

Ford smiled at me, a small expression that meant a lot. I had no intention of fawning over him, especially not in front of the family. He looked at Stanley in a very cursory manner before they both sat at the table, not speaking to each other though across from each other. I found it strange but didn't have much time to think it over as Mable was chattering my ear about how thankful she was for pancakes. I laughed and nodded, unable to not be happy around such a happy kid. Dipper seemed to have a sweet tooth like his sister, already digging into to the food now drenched in syrup. Mable was covering hers with glitter and toys which I wasn't sure if she was going to actually eat or not, still chattering away.

"...and then today Candy and Grenda are coming over so we can all hang out and talk about boys and then we might go to the pool and..." She paused to take a bite of glitter covered food, pupils growing to the size of small saucers before continuing. "This is so yummy I could eat this every day Why can't you just stay here forever with us!?" She dug into another bite and the question hung in the air with much more seriousness than she'd meant. Dipper gave his sister a solid kick under the table, causing her to whine and slap him back. I took another bite of the pancakes, realizing that I'd lost my appetite and I didn't seem to be the only one. It wasn't so crazy to think how well I fit in here but.... I had to go home, I just had to.

_Right?_

* * *

 

After awhile of us sitting around Stanley had made the kids clean up the kitchen and table, much to their groaning. He was really good with the kids, even if he missed somethings. I remembered at last minute, as Ford was leading me towards his lab, to remind him to go buy food for the house. He grumbled something about always having something to spend money on but agreed and shot me a grin. Ford looked a tad bit uncomfortable at this, though I wrote it off as nothing. He walked to the snack machine in the living room and I gave him a strange look. 

"Still hungry Ford?" This got a chuckle out of him as he punched the code in and the door hissed open. I gasped and stared at him, stared at the door, stared at him again. Ford just smiled and led me down the stairs, the door swinging shut behind us. The stairs were a bit steep, definitely aged, and spat us out inside an equally aged lab. I was still in heaven though. So many machines surrounded me, tools laying everywhere, and then I saw it. Through the glass, past the control panel, a half built giant portal. Symbols surrounded the half circle, symbols I had never seen before. It was a gorgeous piece of machine though, so massive. Ford chuckled again at my agape mouth and wide eyed expression, taking my hand and trying to lead me to another part of the lab. 

"I wanna see it up close." My voice was barely above a whisper and he must not have heard me properly since he came closer, puzzled expression on his face.

"What now?"

"I wanna see it closer Ford."  I repeated, voice stronger. I'd never seen such a beautiful and massive piece of machinery in my life. My love for machines was unmatched by much else. When I was a child, obsessed with taking apart clocks and VCRs, my mother had told me I had gotten that from my father, though I never met him. Mom told me he died in an awful accident right after she found out she was pregnant with me, the same accident that took my brother. She never spoke about them otherwise, thinking it better for me and I had not tried to ask about them too often. 

Ford nodded lightly, my hand still trapped in his, and led me down another set of stairs and through a massive metal door with at least 3 locking mechanisms on it. Up close the portal was amazingly intimidating. I ran my hand down one of the cold metallic sides and Ford made an uncomfortable noise in his throat. I turned to face him, so many questions in my mind.

"What was this for?" Only scratching the surface of what I wanted to know. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and sighed, avoiding my eyes. 

"It's a very long story..." He let his words trail off but I needed to know. The curiosity was killing me. I pushed onward, stepping closer to him. 

"I have a lot of time to hear it." That was very true but he still didn't meet my gaze, hesitantly taking my hand in his again.

"I think it's best if I tell you another time. Right now I need to give you a tour of the lab and explain what we need to get started on." Whatever this portal was involved in was an incredibly touchy subject for him and begrudgingly I let it drop, squeezing his fingers a bit tighter.

"A tour it is then!" I exclaimed and he finally looking up, smiling softly and nodding. For the rest of the morning and most of the evening he was explaining most of the lab, parts of his research and finally about the mechanics of the portal. It was a lot to take in and he gave me a notebook to document in. After hours of listening, writing and avoiding yawning (paperwork was never a part of the job I enjoyed), Ford finally gave me my first objective in helping him. There were several internal components in the portal that he knows had snapped at their welding points and the circuits may have been broken as well. Not only was he too large to crawl into the small spaces but he didn't know exactly what to look for when it came to rewiring.  Wiring and the innards of machines were what I excelled at though and I was so very excited to begin the work. Gathering several tools I snatched up a spare tool belt and lab coat, donning both and feeling excellently professional. Ford was already pouring over his books, running numbers through an ancient looking machine and I thought about how badly he needed to upgrade this stuff. We would definitely be discussing that later. I walked behind him, hesitantly laying an hand on his shoulder and grimacing when he shrugged it off. He was in full science mode now, I should have expected as much. I began to walk towards the stairs that led to portal room, trying to not look dejected. I didn't know that his eyes followed me, nor did I know that he found my body in a lab coat ridiculously attractive. I didn't know that he was having thoughts about everything you shouldn't be doing in a lab nor that he was having an internal battle with how very inappropriate those thoughts were.

* * *

We worked for long enough that I had lost complete track of time, not a difficult task in a lab, underground, with no windows. I was halfway inside of the lower half of the portal, underneath the ramp that led up into it. I'd found at least 3 wires running through several feet of the machine that had burned completely through and needed replacement and re-soldering.  It wouldn't have been so difficult if the damn panels required constant movement and replacement to move through those several feet of machinery. I bent sideways, inching myself a bit further in to reach another inch of wire and cursed loudly as my leg scraped against an edge of the metal. What a shame because it hadn't been bothering me very much until now. I wormed my way out of the machine and pulled up my pant leg, frustrated as I saw blood beginning to seep through. I stared at the massive wound for a moment, angry, and then widened my eyes. The wound looked like it was moving, growing further around my leg as I stared at it. It gave off a steady throb and I gasped and I swore I saw shimmering gold colors underneath the wound, hiding in the blood. I scooted back quickly, as if running away from my own leg, and slammed my back into the machine with a loud  _clang!_ My heart was beating fast, watching the cut grow, tiny cuts over my veins snaking outward and the pain...the pain was so bad. I felt tears leaking out of my eyes and saw that flash of gold again, followed by what looked like eyes. EYES!?

_Oh god oh god oh god he's inside of me....that fucking demon is inside of me_

My chest was heaving with how quickly I was breathing, frozen in place and staring at the growing wound, tears making fast trails down my cheeks. I saw that eye again and it stared into every part of my soul, filling my brain with those bugs again, trying to inch their way into my mind. 

I gave a shrill shriek as I felt hands grab my shoulders and looking up, gasping for air, into Ford's face. He had such a look of concern on his features and I broke into sobs, pushing my face into his chest. 

"W-what happened?! Are you okay?!" His hands moved up to my face, pulling me away from his sweater and looking into my eyes again. I was beginning to calm down, beginning to breath correctly again and strained my neck to look down at my leg. It was no different than before, same wound I'd been looking at for days. No gold. No eyes. 

"I..." My voice broke as I took another shaky, trembling breathe. "I just scraped my leg...I'm fine I promise." I couldn't have him thinking I was crazy, my mind was just trying to fool me. You can't have eyeballs in your body, this was crazy. He gave me a skeptical look and quickly picked me up, cradled in his arms.

"Maybe this was a mistake, having you work on this while you're still injured." I shook my head quickly as he carried me back up into the main lab. "I promise I'm fine Ford, it's not even that bad." He took a glance down at the wound and frowned heavily and I realized this was probably the first time he had seen it unwrapped.

_Unwrapped....when did I unwrap it..._

I must have done it without thinking. That must be it. I groaned softly at the thought and pushed my head against Ford lightly. He sighed and sat me down on the table, sitting in his roller chair and pulling my leg into his lap. He looked it over, prodding and poking in places making me gasp and complain. 

"Why isn't it healing....there's no reconstructive work happening it at all." He was talking to himself and I shrugged in response, feeling awkward just sitting there.

"Do you know a lot about medical things?" I hadn't realized that he might have been a better person to be looking after the wound than myself and Stanley combined. 

He shrugged, looking at the main cut in a worrisome way. "I know enough. I have 12 doctorates in different studies so.." He trailed off and I saw an embarrassed blush creep across his face. 12?! No wonder he had no idea how social interactions worked.... 

When Ford finally allowed me my leg back, pulling out a spare bandage and handing it over to me, he sat back in his chair thinking.

"Well it's settled, you can't be crawling around these machines until we stitch that wound up." I groaned at him, earning a bemused look and shrug. 

"I'll go into town tomorrow and get what I need to stitch it up and after that you can work again." He continued and I perked up a bit. "In the meantime let's stop for the day, it's already dark outside and I'm sure you're hungry." My stomach gave an angry growl as if on cue and it seemed to break the tension in the room. I giggled and nodded, pushing off the table and wincing when my leg hit the floor. We made our way upstairs slowly, my mood improved significantly. I was feeling a lot less crazy. 

 

 


	12. Something Awful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll be watching you.

Much to my dismay the rest of the night passed without anything exciting happening. Nothing at all. 

I ate dinner with the kids, Stanley and Stanford were still not speaking to each other, and afterwards I had to rain check our hide-behind hunt until Ford stitched me up. Dipper seemed disappointed but Mable quickly slapped a giant smiley face sticker over his face and dragged him off to their attic room. Ford disappeared back into the lab and out of stubborn frustration I refused to follow him. 

_The man couldn't even say goodnight..._

I sat for awhile with Stanley in the TV room before heading off to bed. An easy nights sleep and equally boring morning was actually incredibly refreshing compared to everything that had been going on recently. Before lunch Ford had left for town with a long list of groceries and medical supplies to get, Stan conveniently disappearing when his brother asked how he was supposed to pay for it all. The kids and I were currently sitting out in the yard, staring up at the clouds. Mable had quiet the imagination when it came to most things and cloud shaping was no exception. 

"THIS IS SUCH A BORING DAY!" She suddenly declared, chewing on a stray strand of hair.

"That's not always a bad thing." I retorted, earning me a heavy sigh from Mable and snorted laughter from Dipper.

"For Mable it is. She'd rather everything in the world be neon colored and musically covered." He said and I laughed as well, looking over to see Mable nodding vigorously, massive grin plastered on her face and braces shining with rainbow bands. 

"Neon colored doesn't sound to bad. I think I'd rather everything in the world...." I contemplated for a moment before fixing them both with a very serious look. "To be edible and covered in chocolate. NOM NOM NOM." Acting like a giant Pac-Man I inched across the grass towards both kids, making them shriek and jump up. Dipper shoved his sister towards me, who squealed and began to run in circles around me. I giggled and kept noming towards them until we were all laughing too hard to continue. Falling in almost the same place as we were laying before, I sighed contentedly and smiled. Mable rolled onto her side and I was surprised to see her frowning. 

"What's wrong kiddo?" Her frown only deepened at the question and she flopped back onto her back. 

"Do you have to leave? Its so fun with you here and you make Grunkle Stan way less grunkly." I gave a soft laugh and shrugged, staring up at the sky, beautifully light blue with cotton candy clouds. 

"I don't know. Just don't worry about it too much. I'm really enjoying the time here..." I realized with an afterthought that nobody knew about my strange relationship with Ford yet and I should probably keep it that way. Most of my time was visibly spent around Stanley. Otherwise, I didn't have answers that the kids wanted to hear. This place was amazing but it wasn't my home. 

"Yeah but I don't want it to end." Mable had pulled her sweater over her head and the words came out muffled. Usually this is where Dipper would step in but he was just staring up, deep in thought. I opened my mouth to say something else, maybe something reassuring, maybe something vague and a bit hopeful, but was cut off by Ford pulling into the driveway. 

"Grunkle Ford!" The twins lunged towards the car, screaming in unison, and the sad mood was completely lifted. Ford had barely gotten a leg out of the car before they were on top of him, Dipper asking him if they could play a game together, Mable shrieking something about toy dinosaurs from the store. Ford chuckled heartily and tried to shove them away, each attaching to one of his legs. I watched his face, saw that smile that I liked so much and shook my head at him when his gaze met mine. 

"Kids! Kids! Come now I have things to do. Help me!" He shouted over to me and I kept shaking my head. 

"No way, this is your battle." He finally bargained both of them away with promises of his time later and got them to bring in brown bags of groceries. He had a small cloth bag with a large red cross on it clutched in his large hand and I gave him a strange look.

_How very old school....and cliche_

He walked over, holding out a hand to help me off the ground which was becoming more and more difficult. Not only did the leg ache but it had started getting stiff and hard to move. I was very excited for Ford to give it some real medical attention and to start finally feeling better. I stumbled a bit, righting myself disappointingly before Ford could catch me and we made our way inside. Ford checked to see if the kids were putting the food away and collected a few things from the kitchen while I stood there a bit awkwardly. I noticed that Stanley was still missing and made a point to remember to ask him about the recent tension between his brother and himself. Ford and I made our way down to the lab, him becoming frustrated with how slow I was halfway down the stairs and sweeping me into his arms to carry the rest of the way. I may have been angrier at the exasperated way he had done this if not for the fact I loved it when he touched me. It was like being shocked everywhere our skin met. I touched his cheek briefly and saw the blush crawl up his face, eyes never looking down at me. I ran my hand along his cheekbone, feeling the stubble there and watching the crimson grow. Still he wouldn't look at me. I would have kept teasing him, it was so much fun, but we were finally down into the lab and he sat me down on the counter again. I hopped down onto my good leg and waited until he had turned to trifle through the bag. He was being so quiet and it was too silent in the room for my liking. Lifting a lab coat off the hook next to me I grinned, an idea dawning to maybe get a chuckle out of him. When he turned back around I was back on the counter, in the lab coat, striking the silliest sexy pose I could. 

"Are you ready to play doctor?" I tried to make my voice as sultry as possible but a laugh was trying to work it's way out. He froze, eyes moving over me and what I thought had been a blush before paled in comparison to the beet red color on his face now. I gave him a confused look before very slowly it dawned on me what was going on, causing fire to raise up in my own cheeks. He was into this kind of thing. 

_Oh no_

I quickly swung my legs back over the edge of the table, embarrassment strong in my expression and he spun back around towards the bag, staring into it without moving. 

"I-ah....did you find everything you needed for stitches?" That's what we needed, casual conversation. That would make all of this better. He stayed silent for a few moments, not making any move to turn around and the thought of why that was made me blush harder. Finally he nodded lightly, heaved a big sigh and turned, walking back over to me. I kept my eyes strictly on his face though I wanted so badly to let them stray.

"Yes, they were all in one store so that was nice." He sat down in the rolling chair, the same height as the counter so I was looking down at him slightly now. He pulled my leg into his lap and then stared at it for a moment. I had pants on. I could see his jaw lock a bit before pushing my leg back off his lap and standing. 

"You'll need to go and change into shorts for me to preform the procedure." He said it in such a cold way that I almost forgot his blood was boiling underneath the now cool expression. For some reason this annoyed me. With an expression that was as defiant as I could muster, I undid the button to my pants and slid them down my legs, leaving myself in just underwear. Thinking this would help me be less aggravated with him was a mistake, now I was just standing in a cold lab with a lab coat on and no pants, trying to make some kind of point to this infuriating man and-

_Oh my god_

His lips were on mine, hungry and strong and I took back everything I had thought. He was perfect and amazing and not infuriating at all. The kiss was all passion and lust, tongue swiping past my lips until I opened my mouth for him. Our teeth clacked rather loudly and he chuckled into my mouth, not even skipping a beat. Before I had time to think I was sitting on the counter again, legs wrapped around his hips, feeling his hands slide inside my shirt and up my back. Ford brushed all 6 fingers across my spine and I shuddered against him, bringing myself closer to him, feeling his heat against me. He pulled back from the kiss and I made an unhappy noise at him, only to feel a tug at my ear as he made his way down my neck to my collarbone, being rough in the most gentle ways. 

_This is bliss_

My hands twined themselves through his hair and I smelled his cologne, older, rustic. I loved it. He made his way back up to my mouth where the kisses became slower, deeper and his hands pulled me tightly against him. When Ford finally broke away we were both raggedly breathing, his glasses askew. The tension in the room was gone and he sat down hard, putting a bit of distance between us. I giggled softly, trying not to stare at his pants or the very obvious problem he was having, and swung my now exposed leg into his lap. He made an  _oof_ sound and looked up at me in an almost pained way.

"So you do want to play doctor?" The question got a laugh out of him, which was what I originally wanted but I'd take what actually happened over a laugh any day. He grinned up at me and slid a finger up my bare leg. I gave a small gasp, delighted at first, before looking down at his finger. The gasp turned fearful as I realized that wasn't his finger...that wasn't Ford's hand. My eyes widened and followed up the arm that was touching me, the arm that wasn't Fords, the chest that wasn't Ford's, the grinning face that wasn't Ford's. Golden hair dusted over dark skin was all I saw before squeezing my eyes shut and making an awful noise in disturbance.

_Oh god oh god oh god get out of my head. STOP IT STOP IT This isn't real._

I felt a hand on my cheek and my eyes flew open and I was staring into Ford's concerned face. It was just him, no one else.

_I'm going nuts...._

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" I shook my head quickly, eyes darting around the room for a moment before relaxing a small amount. 

"No, no. Sorry, it was nothing." I smiled in a big way and he gave me his own lopsided smile back before nodding. I knew I should be talking to him about this, telling him what was going on, but it was so crazy. I knew I wasn't a crazy person but what if he thought I was. 

Ford pulled up the supplies and held a curved needle. "Alright then. Let's get started on these stitches." 

 


	13. Something Constant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two eyes?! Man this thing is deluxe!

Many yelps, grimaces and borderline insulting remarks at Ford had filled the lab while he was stitching my leg. He promised it wouldn't hurt that much and even added a numbing salve but my leg felt like fire and every stitch was a knife poking through the skin. As embarrassed as I was, tears even came at one point, which caused Ford to set down his needle and stand, wrapping those large arms around me and squeezing. It had caught me off guard but I was quick to hug him back, earning a smile. Then we continued. He finally cut the last thread and I sighed in relief, finally through the worst of it. He wrapped it again as well, saying something about the stitches being an infection risk and they might seep...I had stopped listening then, worried his lab floor would be vomit colored soon. 

"I really appreciate this Ford....now it'll start healing right?" I was really hopeful about that part of the situation, tired of always being tired, always having a bleeding wound. I had begun to worry that it was effecting my health as well, so much constant blood loss. Ford nodded slightly and looked the leg over once more.

"I certainly hope so. Just keep checking on it and let me know if anything seems strange." He looked up at me with a serious expression and I poked him in the nose in response. 

"Don't worry. I wouldn't pass up a chance to play doctor again." I giggled as his face reddened again, not nearly as bad before, and he shuffled his feet. "Don't tease me about it..." His comment was soft and withdrawn leaving me incredibly surprised.

_Is he acting vulnerable around me?_

A massive grin crossed my face and I stood, hiding the wince when I hit the ground, to give him a massive hug. Without putting much thought into it I covered his mouth with mine and we shared a short moment before he, of course, pulled away. I sighed at him, more of a reserved and expectant feeling now really, and after pulling my pants back on made my way towards the stairs. 

"I assume you have stuff to do this evening?" I knew the answer before he told me and tried not to act too disappointed by it. Just shrugged and shot a smile at his quiet "Yes" response. 

"Okay, I've got plans with the kids anyways! See ya later Doc." With that I began to slowly climb the stairs, not looking back. Every step seemed more difficult than the last and I exasperatedly shoved my hair out of my face, annoyed that the stitches didn't make it instantly better. Of course that didn't make any kind of actual sense but ....patience wasn't my virtue. Halfway up the stairs I was almost certain were made in hell, the snack machine door hissed open and Stanley stepped through. He gave me one look and shook his head, quickly making his way down to where I was and propping my arm over his shoulders.

"What are ya doing going up and down these stairs on your own?" His question made sense but I wasn't in a very sensible mood at the moment, leg aching, frustrated at my own inability, looking like a sweaty mess of exertion. 

"I could ask you the same old man. I'm perfectly capable." I stuck my tongue out at him and saw a mischievous expression cross his face before feigning insult.

"OLD?! Why I'm young enough to be your father." I balked at the statement, grimacing and continued to climb the stairs on my own as Stanley was bent over laughing so hard, hands on his knees. 

"You're ridiculous. I'm going to go hang out with the youth of this home!" I called back at him after somehow making it to the top of the stairs. Stanley waved a dismissive hand at me, still laughing and turned, making his way down the stairs. I thought for a brief moment about how old Ford and Stanley actually were before shrugging off the thought. It didn't matter too terribly much and I was almost positive the answer was much more complex than an actual number. Looking around the house I finally found the children up in the attic, already preparing for our expedition. It really seemed like a better idea for me to rest instead of hunting around in the dark again but I promised them and the thought at looking at not one but both of their "puppy-dog sad face" expressions was not a good one. Dipper seemed positive that tonight would be the night we caught it and who was I to disappoint that. Mable had a back pack full of glitter and craft supplies, spouting on about how if she made the monster shiny we could always see it. A good argument really. Dipper was packing everything you would think a boy scout would bring for a weekend, also a pretty good decision. The two made a great team...I felt really lucky to meet them.

"ADVENTURE TIME!" Dipper and Mable sang together, pulling me from my thoughts. I laughed and nodded, being pulled out the door and down the stairs by the two. Thankfully down stairs was much easier than up them. After convincing them to slow down long enough to find me a walking stick, we headed into the dark woods, ready to hunt for the Hide-Behind. 

* * *

 

Stanley made his way downstairs to the lab, shaking his head and finishing his chuckling fit. Any humor that was left in his mind or expression fled quickly as his brother was already standing and staring at him, arms crossed. Stanley sighed and stepped into the room, looking around it for a moment, eyes falling on the medical supplies. Finally Ford had done something useful for the girl.

"What do you want Stanley?" Ford's question was as cold as he could muster and Stanley could tell, frowning deeply. Why did his brother always have to be such an ass?

"Look Ford, I just..." He sighed rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I just wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have acted like that..." Stanley avoiding eye contact completely, instead settling his eyes on the ground. This wasn't an easy thing to do but after a day off on his own and a lot of thinking he was willing to compromise for his brother yet again. It wasn't so bad being the "bad" twin. Ford's expression softened immediately and he scrubbed his face with both hands before looking up at Stanley. Sometimes he wished so badly he could take back everything that had happened and make things okay for him. Ford felt immense guilt about how pathetic of a life his brother had lived....even if he had brought it upon himself.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." The apology flew out of Ford's mouth and he could tell Stanley was surprised, his brother never apologized nor felt like he had a reason to. Stan grinned, the same lopsided smile Ford had but with a bit more teeth, and nodded. "You've got a mean hook now Sixer. I mean I woulda still won but ya caught me off-guard." 

Ford chuckled and shook his head, busying his hands by cleaning up the medical supplies. He couldn't stand to stay still for too long. Stanley looked up towards the portal through the window and back to his brother.

"So you're actually fixing it?" Ford nodded in reply, while staring out at the dangerous machine. Stanley continued. "Ya know you threw a big fit about how I spent all this time rebuilding it to bring you home....but you're willing to do it for her. Is this worth it?" Ford gazed out through the glass, eyes finally settling on his own reflection. Finally he sighed and looked up at his twin.

"It wasn't worth it to risk the world for me...and it's a stupid decision to risk it for her. This isn't her fault though, she had nothing to do with this. She has nothing to do with Gravity Falls." The two brothers sat in silence for awhile, thinking over the situation. Stanley didn't know exactly what evil his brother was so afraid of but it seemed pretty bad and honestly, he was pretty okay with this girl staying around. They could just tell her that there was no way to get her home....Stanley admonished himself for such an awful thought. Suddenly his head gave a soft spike of pain and he rose a hand to it. Ford looked over in time see Stan's eyes flash yellow for a moment and then back to normal. He narrowed his eyes at his twin, quickly pulling out a pen light and shining it into his eyes.

"OW FORD! What's the big idea!?" Stanley shouted and deja vu hit him hard. Ford muttered something soft under his breathe and then straightened. "Sorry, I thought I saw something." Stanley cocked his head at his brother and turned around, sighing. 

"You're such a weirdo Ford." He made his way towards the stairs and looked back for a moment as his brother spoke, completely disregarding his insult.

"If you see her will you ask her to come down to the lab again please." 

Stanley shrugged and nodded, wishing his brother could just leave the dungeon and go ask her himself. "Sure but she's off on some adventure with the kids right now. Monster huntin and what not." He began to climb the stairs again but heard his brother stand and groaned, the man did not know how to finish a conversation. 

"Monster hunting? Her leg is in no shape for that! And I told Dipper to stop with all the paranormal research, it's dangerous!" Ford was a little too worked up, such a serious man and Stanley raised his hands defensively. 

"Hey take that up with them. If she wants ta go out it's not like you can tell her no." Ford narrowed his eyes at Stanley, annoyed at the lack of care he seemed to hold for their safety, and pushed past him. 

"As soon as I find them I will take it up with them." With that he was up the stairs and out the door. Stanley huffed out a breath and began to climb himself, mumbling about his weird brother. 

* * *

 

I followed the kids once again through the same patch of woods as last time, actually able to keep an okay pace with them now. Before we had left I'd thought ahead long enough to take some pain killers and they were already making a difference in things. We told stories as we walked, swinging the flash lights around occasionally but mostly keeping them shined on each others back. We were a flash light train. The only person's who's back was unlit was mine because I had insisted if the monster tried to eat one of us he would have a harder time eating me then them. The logic fell soundly on the 12 year olds shoulders and so I was the caboose of the train. We made it a bit further into the woods than we had last time, passing the time by talking before we heard it. A  _crunch_ of leaves between the trees. Dipper froze and spun around, the sound coming from behind us. We all turned our flashlights on the spot only for another twig to break, everyone of us jumping at the sound.

"I-i'm gonna go check it out." Dipper was trying to sound manly as he crunched over to the trees the noise was coming from, flash light shaking in his sweaty hands. I followed right behind him while Mable stayed and scouted the area, literally watching out backs.

The noise grew and seemed to be coming from beside us now, more  _crunching_ and  _ **Snaps**_ of the nature around us. I backed up a little bit, back towards maybe and shook my head. A feeling of dread settled over me as I was sure something awful was about to happen. I was sure I was going to see  _him._

"Dipper I think we should go. I don't think this a good idea." It was hard to keep my voice still but my nerves were frayed, eyes so wide in worry they hurt. This had been a bad idea....we shouldn't have come hunting for some demon in the dark. The good feelings that had been there only a moment before were drowned away by the sudden suffocating atmosphere. Dipper shook his head and took a step forward.

"No! We've been searching for days...this is it I just know it!" His voice was stronger now, his love of the paranormal driving him. I stepped back further and knocked into Mable though she didn't seem to notice. She had an equally worried expression on her face. 

"Bro-bro...I don't like this." Her voice was the softest I'd ever heard it and a sudden  _ **SNAP**_ caused us all to jump and Dipper to let out a particularly girly scream. We saw a figure approaching, tall and broad, eyes yellow and big. It's long arms hung down past it's knees, hunched back with a bony spine, everything nightmares are made of. It stepped closer, silently, towards the clearing and I fell down trying to back up more, pulling Mable closer to me. Dipper was absolutely frozen with fear, staring up at the beast we had been searching for. It suddenly twisted its neck up towards the sky and let out a noise that made my teeth clench together. The noise died to a rattle in it's throat and it quickly jumped forward into the clearing, into visible moon light. I was the only adult here and I quickly scrambled to my feet, grabbing Dipper and thrusting him behind me with his sister. It leaned down as if it were sniffing us and twisted its neck again, eyes staring into mine.

_"Broken heart."_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18


	14. Something Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is this your reality or someone's dream?

_Broken Heart."_

The voice whispered out and chills ran down my spine, freezing every bit of my body. My mouth dried up in an instant, unable to form words enough to even tell the kids to run away. It's neck was so long, it was so awful. Black skin made of shadows that seemed to move as if a thousand nightmares were crawling under it and those eyes...staring straight through you, into everything you were. It held up an awful appendage that my mind couldn't figure out...was it a claw? a hand? I blinked hard as it moved up in front of my face. There was a loud crack of branches behind us and suddenly the beast snapped it's awful head up, staring, before making a mighty leap straight up into the trees and darkness of the night. We were all still, frozen in fear. Blood rushed in my ears so loudly, heart pounding audibly.... at least to me. Another crack of the branches and I forced myself to turn, as if in slow motion, grabbing onto the kids again.

"HELLO?! KIDS?!" Ford's voice rang close and my body immediately let out a burst of adrenaline. With no where to go it left me trembling and weak, watching as he burst into the clearing, a look of mixed anger and worry gracing those well defined features.

"Grunkle Ford!" Mable weakly shouted and rushed to him, arms wrapped around a leg in a death grip. Dipper stared at Ford for a moment before looking up at me as if questioning. I didn't even know where to begin...this had been an awful idea and I felt an old shame rise up, similar to being caught sneaking out as a teenager. Ford ran a hand over Mable's hair and then looked up at me, eyes boring into mine, fury covering up the worry. He turned the furious gaze down at his nephew and I instinctively put an arm around the pre-teen. 

"Don't be upset Ford, I told them we could do this." The words rushed out of me, though even I could tell how bad of an excuse it was. Ford looked back up at me and shook his head slowly, stepping forward and half dragging Mable with him.

"I was very, very clear with you..." He looked back down at Dipper now. "Do not hunt for the things in Gravity Falls. It is too dangerous. Do you remember that conversation?" Dipper nodded softly and my annoyance grew a bit. 

"He was trying to help your research Ford, give him a break." Ford sighed and gave me a disapproving look. 

"How could this have been a good idea? Gallivanting out in the middle of the night on some ridiculous monster hunt. In your condition no less." He punctuated each sentence hard and I felt my temper begin to rise. 

"And what exactly is that condition? You didn't seem to care much when I walked to town on my own." The words were out before I could stop them and I blanched a bit, not intending to bring personal feelings into this and certainly not in front of the children. Ford's eyes were still steeled on mine and the atmosphere got a bit heavier, an argument brewing. Dipper spoke up before Ford could, stepping towards his great uncle.

"Grunkle Ford! We can handle ourselves. AND! We found the Hide-Behind!" He crossed his arms now, quite the ballsy kid, and Ford gave him a bitter laugh.

"You have no business for hunting after such an awful thing and there's no chance you found it. It doesn't stay in this region, let alone would it have shown itself to you."

Mable spoke now, staring up at Ford. "But we saw it Grunkle Ford! It was ugly and awful and not nice at all!" Ford pinched above his nose, eyes closed and took a deep breath. Upon opening his eyes he looked down at Dipper again.

"This is exactly the problem. There is no way to see the Hide-Behind because all it does is hide. Whatever you encountered must have been something else. An excellent reason why you shouldn't have been out here exploring at night as is! It's too dangerous. We're going back to the house and I will see to it that both of you are grounded for this." His words firm and still in the night's air he finally raised his gaze back to mine. Neither child protested, which surprised me, but what surprised me more was how very frustrating Ford was being. He turned, pulling Mable back off his leg and began to walk back towards the shack. Not two minutes prior we were scared for our lives as Dipper tried to aid his great uncle's work and now that same man is chastising them for it....

_And chastising me..._

"They we're fine with me Stanford." My reply was curt, stuck between anger and disapproval at how he was handling the situation. Ford, seemingly reaching his level of patience which wasn't very high to begin with, spun around and raised a finger at me, causing my own anger to immediately flair.

"This is not an open discussion! You made a foolish decision coming out here and endangering yourself on this ridiculous endeavor! The kids wouldn't have been able to stop something from happening to you and with your injury you couldn't have protected them! You should have made the intelligent choice and you didn't." He spat out and my mouth hung open a moment, a hollow O, before the fury began to pour off of me in heated waves. No one insulted my intelligence. He realized very quickly what he had done but I was already pushed past him, on my way towards the shack.

"Wait.." Ford called after me and I ground my walking stick into the dirt, looking at both children and refusing to look at him. Dipper and Mable gave startled looks and began to follow along with me. We made our way silently back to the shack, leaving Ford standing alone in the clearing. 

* * *

 

The kids made it back before I did, 10 paces ahead because of my slow pace. I was dragging along by the time we reached the porch, leg burning and fire blazing behind my eyes. The quiet walk back had only made me angrier, having time to mull over Ford's stupidity. Making it up the steps and through the door I saw Dipper and Mable already up the steps and down the hall. They had the right idea and I was going to follow to bed right after them. I thunked my walking stick against the wall next to the door and began the ascent up the stairs, slowly and deliberately avoiding the desire to stomp my feet. Rounding the first corner at the top my eyesight was wavering in front of me already and I ran smack into Stanley with a loud  _oof._ Too angry to hold a conversation and hearing him take in a breath to say something, I quickly pushed past, rather rudely I will admit, and continued on down the hallway. In my rush to avoid blowing up at someone I didn't notice Stan's wide grin or yellowed eyes. Nor did I see the disappointed, almost angry, look grace his features after I ignored him. 

I paced the guest room for a few moments before my wound wouldn't allow that to happen any longer, settling instead for laying on my bed and staring up at the ceiling. I tried to think of other things, tried reading a few of the books brought back from town, tried meditating...all just to calm down. Normally I wouldn't still be so worked up about something but this situation was hard to begin with and petty arguments about nothing in particular didn't make things much better. Finally I felt my eyelids grow heavy, happily welcoming sleep as a distraction. I could handle the fallout tomorrow but right now rest was an intelligent decision. 

* * *

 

I woke up feeling tired, always an unpleasant thing, but at least not angry anymore. The sun was already shining brightly through the curtains in the room and I stood groggily, stretching. Another nice discovery, my leg wasn't hurting at all, feeling the best it had since the wound had first happened. I smiled down at it, though covered by yesterdays clothes, thankful that the stitches were actually working. 

_I should go smooth things over with Ford..._

It wasn't a bad idea, I wasn't keen on the idea of having him still mad at me about yesterday and was willing to let the comment made go. Walking out into the hallway I was met with a fantastic smell and my smile broadened, hoping that Stanley was making breakfast so I could apologize to him as well. Going down the stairs with new found strength and no pain to speak of, I quickly walked around the corner to the kitchen.

"Hey Sta-" My statement fell short and my jaw dropped open. My mother was standing at the stove, making her unmatched omelettes, and she jumped happily when she saw me.

"M-mom!!" I shouted, sprinting forward and hugging her tightly. She returned the hug, laughing against me and my eyes welled up. I missed her so much it had hurt. We stood like that for a moment and when I pulled back she had tears in her eyes as well.

"Mom how are you...what are you....what's going on?!" I was so confused and so happy and she quickly detached herself from me, flipping the omelette before it burned. 

"Oh honey, don't worry. A gentleman called me and explained everything and I immediately rushed here. It's very confusing...and I'm still figuring everything out....but I've got my sweet girl back and that's all that matters to me." Tears were free falling down my face now and I wrapped myself around her again, not letting go until she batted me off to finish breakfast. Pulling out another few eggs and beginning to cook more I sat down at the table, unable to keep the massive smile off my face. Ford must have done this for me....but why? After making such a huge deal about not contacting my mother, why now? I jumped as I heard a bark from the living room and looked at my mom, confused. She smiled back and laughed.

"I almost forgot! I brought Max!" As soon as the words left her mouth I was running into the living room. Max spotted me and leaped into my arms, all fur and dog kisses. Dipper and Mable had been playing with him and they giggled as he licked my face over and over.

"Oh Max! Oh Maxy I missed you!!" I ruffled his ears and set the dog down on the floor, sitting as well and petting his belly. Dipper gave him another pet too and beamed at me.

"Your family is so cool!" I nodded quickly and gave Max another hug, unable to contain my joy. This was amazing! Everything I had missed so badly was in this amazing new place and it was just...just....

"Perfect!" Mable jumped up, shouting out the word that finished my thought and Max jumped up, barking happily. I stood then, looking around quickly and then back down at the children.

"Where is Ford? I have to thank him for this!" Dipper and Mable both pointed at the snack machine and I rolled my eyes in a knowing way. Of course he was down there. I swept back through the kitchen, pecked my mom on the cheek and told her I would be right back before walking back towards the snack machine. Quickly punching in the code, my body buzzing impatiently for the door to hiss open, I bounded down the steps as soon as it did. I also ran straight into Stanley again, eliciting a yelp from him.

"Oh Stan! I'm so sorry....times 2! I didn't mean to push you last night and did you see my mom and my dog?! They're here!" The words rushed out of me and Stanley laughed, picking me up by my shoulders and setting my on the other side of him, towards the lab. 

"I did meet them, yer mom is up there making breakfast right now. But we'll talk later, Ford wants to talk to ya." I nodded quickly at him, not waiting to talk anymore and rushed down the stairs. Ford was bent over his desk and grinned up at me as soon as I entered the room. He had shed his jacket and sweater, no wonder because of how hot it was down here, and was wearing a black t-shirt that fit him well. 

"Ford!" I rushed forward, straight into his arms and he held me tightly against him. "I'm so sorry about getting so angr-" I wasn't able to finish the sentence as his mouth was covering mine, lustfully pressed against me. The heat rose to my cheeks immediately but I didn't mind at all, running my tongue along the inside of his mouth and moaning a bit when he bit my lip softly. He pulled away and hugged me tightly again, all happiness inside his eyes.

"Let's forget about it. I realized how unhappy you've been since you got here...Did you see your mother?!" I nodded vigorously, feeling like any second now my smile would simply grow past my ears. 

"I did I did! Thank you so much! Isn't she just amazing?" I could barely contain my excitement, so overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Last night was so awful and today was so amazing. So very...

"Perfect." Ford said softly and I hugged myself against his chest. "She is perfect." I replied and we just stood there for a long moment, holding each other happily. I felt his large hands start to stray down my back, lightly brush against my shirt and I gave him a mischievous look. That was all Ford needed to grasp my hips strongly and lift me up against the counter, once again kissing me in ways I could've never dreamed to be kissed. Our bodies flush against each other, my legs wrapped around him, we explored each others mouths until we were both gasping for air, pulling away. I gave him a sultry look and he laughed, nuzzling his mouth against my neck and pushing hot air against it. I shuddered in response and his mouth moved up to my ear, nipping the lobe.

"Don't you just wish we could stay like this forever." He whispered and I shuddered again, nodding softly. 

"Yes..." The word was barely a breath and he nipped my ear again, earning a small gasp.

"Don't you want this to be everyday." I squeezed my eyes shut as his hushed voice filled my ear again and nodded, and he bit at me neck and then my ear again.

"F-ford..."

"Don't you want to give me what I want." His question rang in my ears and I nodded, feeling heat grow inside my stomach. I felt his hot breath on my ear again and he bit down, this time sending a sharp pain through me.

"Ow Ford!" I quickly pushed his face away, eyes flying open. My gaze settled on his face and I screamed at the sight, his eyes yellowed and face dripping away. I shoved as hard as possible, his body falling with no regard, crumpling to the ground. I screamed again, a loud sound that echoed through the lab and jumped off the counter, racing up the stairs.

"STANLEY! STANLEY HELP ME! FORD IS POSSESSED!" My heart beat hard in my chest as I shoved through the snack machine door before it had the chance to open all the way, gasping for air.

"STANLEY!" I screamed again, running into the living room in search of help. It was an awful mistake going in there, realizing too late. My Max stood there, covered in blood, growling up at me with some...thing in his mouth. 

_Oh god Oh god.._

I saw the bodies on the ground...oh god the children...and immediately turned and lost everything in my stomach. I shoved myself backwards, finally hitting the wall of the living room. Max growled again and stepped forward, shaking his head and muzzle, dropping what I now saw was an arm on the ground. Blood flew off his long muzzle hairs and splattered across my face. I felt the room shake and shimmer around my eyes, blackness growing and somehow managed to keep my consciousness. I clawed my way back out the room, sobbing now, calling for Stanley, begging for help. The thought of my mother crossed my mind and I moved, so slowly, into the kitchen. I hadn't noticed before but there was black smoke billowing out of the room and as soon as I walked in I saw it was from the oven.

_No no no no no nononononon_

I could feel my consciousness begin to slip again, shoving myself away from the kitchen. Her shoes...her shoes had been sitting in front of it. Of the oven. Oh god...oh no...I stumbled my way out the front door and fell onto the hard wood of the porch. The sky around me was red and green, the colors slipping in and out of themselves in a sickly fashion. I looked up, the world dancing in front of my eyes and saw Stanley. He was standing in the middle of the yard, waving to me, calling to me. I pulled myself up, slinking down the stairs and crawling my way over to him.

"Oh g-g-g-g-od Stanley it's s-s-s-so bad..." My voice shook, making it almost impossible to speak and Stanley picked me up quickly, looking around nervously. 

"I don't know what is going on but I'm gonna keep ya safe..." He smiled down at me and I couldn't respond, too broken. He held me tightly against him until I began to shift uncomfortably. Still his smile stayed, staring down at me and I wiggled again, trying to push away. 

"Stanley....let me go..." He made no movement, his eyes not even acknowledging the statement, still just grinning down at me. He wasn't even blinking. I began to struggle harder now but he was so much bigger than me, so much stronger. 

"LET ME GO" I was screaming now, right at him but he did not move, did not blink, did not stop smiling. Suddenly I froze, all my struggling stopping as I heard cackling behind me. I knew that laugh...had heard it too many times now. Slowly, with the same expression, Stanley turned me around, arms still locking me in place. In front of me stood a man, golden hair and cocoa colored skin. His hair fell in sharp waves over one eye and I knew that other cat eye well....and was he wearing a suit? My head ached, my heart hurt, everything was so...

"Perfect?" Bill offered, reading my thoughts. I had nothing left to fight with, weak from the struggle, so instead I hung my head and stared hard at the ground.

"Look at me when I speak to you." He ordered, his voice so smooth I knew I was supposed to hate it but I couldn't. I felt Stanley's hand rise and pull my head up, holding it to stare at Bill. He laughed, walking over and running a very human hand over my face. I spat at him, the only thing I could think at short notice and he wiped his shirt where it had hit.

"You're so feisty...I love it." That smooth voice again, not actually his voice.

"Get. Away." The words came from me through gritted teeth and he laughed like he loved the anger. With a snap of his fingers I fell from Stanley's arms and hit the ground hard. I lay there for a moment before using all of my might to stand, arms quaking beneath me in betrayal. Rising to my feet was so difficult, with the added challenge of my leg feeling like fire once again. He watched as I rose slowly, the same awful smile upon his face.

"You humans are so resilient. It's cute really. Now...I have a deal for you." My head shot up at the mention of the deal and I fixed him angrily with my eyes. 

"Fuck your deal." 

"Now now broken heart, let me finish! I can make your life perfect." He snapped his fingers again and the sky immediately brightened, lovely light blues and in front of the shack stood my family, new and old, all waving with happy smiles. My dog jumped happily between the children, Stanley and Stanford had their arms around each others shoulders with happy grins, and my mom leaned against the rails of the porch. "Don't you want this?" 

I didn't answer him, staring at the house, at my family, at what I could have. After minutes of this I finally broke down, sinking to my knees and sobbing.

"No." I barely managed the word out and Bill's human face contorted in anger. Snapping his fingers again everything immediately turned back to red, my dog began attack the children, my mother attacking the older twins viciously. I screamed and threw myself forward only to be grabbed by Bill. He held me tightly, made me watch, magic holding my eyes open. When it was over and I was a broken heap, he turned me and took my face in his hand. 

"You don't get to tell me no. I can make your life better. Or I can ruin it." I shook my head again and again, barely holding onto the threads of my sanity. He threw me down on the ground and rose into the air, looking down at me. 

"You can't say no forever."

The world began melting around me and I screamed, burying my face in my hands.

* * *

 

Waking up in my bed I was still screaming, still feeling him against me, still knowing he was there. I clawed my hands at my face, at everywhere he had touched...I had to get rid of this. I had to get rid of him. I didn't hear Ford and Stanley knocking down my door, nor their horrified gasps. I was too busy screaming. 


	15. Something Sturdy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've got some big plans comin' and I don't need you gettin in my way.

I was screaming, the world dark and quaking around me. I felt him in ever fiber of my body, could see him everywhere...could see the blood and terror. It kept playing through my mind like a bad horror movie. At some point I had started clawing at skin, trying to get the feeling of his touch off of me. With triumph I had drawn blood, tattered my clothing and through the very small slit of vision I did have saw the wound. 

_That's where he is...he's living in me....he's iN ME! GET OUT OF ME!_

My hands immediately went to work, ripping at the stitches that were holding the demon inside my body. I could see his awful eye there, could see his golden skin. A gasp sounded in front of the bed and my head shot up too quickly, causing stars to glitter in front of my failing eyes. Needy hands never stopped ripping at skin and clothes even though that gasp had my attention. He must be watching me.

"GET AWAY FROM ME BILL!" The words screeched out of me as I shoved myself backwards, knocking into the metal bars of the bed frame. Suddenly his arms were on me, holding me down. He must have figured out that I knew how to get him out of my body. I'm smarter than him! Thrashing my body against the heavy weight now I felt him prodding at the wound, trying to get back inside. That wasn't going to happen. I kicked my legs up hard, all adrenaline now and made contact with something, causing a yelp and the weight on my left arm falling back.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" My own voice buzzing in my ears I began bucking my body against the bed, twisting to get out of his terrible grasp. His whispers were all around me, voices everywhere, god he was trying to get into my brain, stop it stop it STOP IT! YOU CAN'T HAVE ME BILL! Suddenly there was a sharp pain in my arm and the demon let go of my arms and I was falling into darkness. Blessed darkness.

* * *

 

Outside POV:

Sleeping soundly in his bed, having a particularly excellent dream about a certain woman, Stanley was suddenly pulled awake by the sound of screaming. Stumbling quickly out of the bed, leaving his slippers in the wake, he half-ran to his door. His first thought,  _the kids,_ before placing just who's scream it was. Taking the stairs two at a time and rounding the corner too quickly, knocking a now pained hip against the rail, he saw Ford at the end of the hallway, knocking loudly and calling out to her. She was screaming, an awful inhuman sound that was akin to a broken siren. Stanley cursed at his brother and went straight to the door, shoving all his weight against it. Ford quickly picked up the idea and they synchronized their slamming until the old wooden door cracked at the beams under the pressure and flew open. Ford was the first in the room and gave a horrified gasp, standing frozen for a moment. Stanley was right behind him and repeated the action almost to a T. 

In the bed she lay, tense, her body stock still except for desperate hands. She had clawed at her face leaving long bloody trails from under the eye, down to the chin. Her arms were a horrific mess of skin and blood, absolutely tattered just like the clothing that now lay in strands on the bed. The worst was her leg, what had made Ford gasp in horror, half of the stitches ripped out and the wound even worse than it had been her first day here. She had ripped the already deep cut wider and the strings of stitching Ford had used were hanging stray through her skin. Ford saw her head snap up at the sound of Stanley's gasp and stare right at them, right through them, as if she had no recognition available. Her hands kept moving, as if on their own, tearing at the leg even further and Ford tried to pull himself from the awful daze. She suddenly took a huge breath and began to scream at them, screaming about Bill. Ford made an awful noise in his throat at the mention of the demons name and quickly crossed the room to her, grabbing an arm to stop her from digging. It was already so bad and she was only making it worse. Stanley quickly picked up what he was doing and jumped forward, grasping her other arm and trying to get down to her ear level, say anything that would help ease the fear. 

Ford looked at his brother, opening his mouth to say something about her being out of her mind when something suddenly made contact with his head and he yelped, crumpling to the floor. He saw dancing lights in his eyes, laying on the floor for a moment to catch his breath.

"You okay?!" Stanley called down to him and Ford rose, realizing she had kicked him and nodded at his brother. 

"I'll be right back Stanley!" He shouted back, rushing out of the room before his brother could protest. Down the stairs once and then again to reach the lab he quickly swept a small, metallic case into his arms and ran the way back up. The whole time he was circling one thought in his mind, one awful, broken thought that actually pricked his eyes with tears. 

_Please don't let it be too late...._

By the time Ford rushed back into the room Dipper and Mable were staring groggily in from the doorway and Stanley tried to shoo them away. It didn't work, the curious and stubborn children, until Ford turned and boomed at them to GET OUT. That sent them packing rather quickly back to the attic. Ford turned and gave his brother a hesitant look before pulling a syringe out of the metal box and quickly administering it into her arm. In mere seconds her tension was gone and she was sinking back onto the bed, limbs limp and heavy. Stanley was finally able to let go of her and looked up, shuddering.

"She begged me not to touch her....said she'd kill me." Stanley shivered again and ran hands up both arms. "What did you give her?" 

Ford looked down at the now knocked out girl and back to his twin. "A sedative that will hopefully keep her asleep long enough for you to repair her. Do you know how to administer stitching to wounds?" Stanley balked a moment before fixing his brother with an angry look.

"Look Poindexter, I care about this girl but ya can't keep runnin off when she needs help. Especially when she wants to wake up and she you." His comment made Ford flinch a bit, looking over the girl again and trying to get his brain wrapped around what could have done this. Well....he knew what could do this....or who could do this.....but why would Bill go after her? He sighed and shook his head, face towards the ground.

"I'm sorry Stanley....but there are tests I must run. If Bill is back...it could spell doom for all of us. I need to figure this out." Stanley opened his mouth to say something else angry to his brother about before waving a hand dismissively, knowing somewhere in his brain that Ford was right. Ford nodded, a quick almost curt motion, and left the room with a flap of his jacket. Stanley wondered for a moment if he slept in that jacket before going off to find some supplies in the house.

* * *

 

The cleaning alone took the majority of an hour, tenderly removing blood from her skin and sanitizing wounds. Her leg and fingers were absolutely the worst and he was saving the leg for last. Her face was mostly superficial, something Stanley ashamedly glad for, and her arms could have been worse. Those fingers though, every nail broken past the quick with two completely falling off. She had been digging for Death or so it seemed. He put ointment on everything and some kind of pain salve that Ford had said she would appreciate upon waking. Stanley wondered if she would wake up in the same way....what if her mind was gone? 

Starting to work on her leg, no prior experience other an Ford's quick demonstration, he began to stitch. Half of the stitches, all lower, were still there and he tried to replicate those. Thank Goodness she was knocked out cause she'd probably be dying in pain otherwise. Finally finishing up, sleep pulling heavily at his eyes, Stanley quietly moved downstairs to make coffee. He had to stay awake until she woke up at least. He made the coffee strong and bitter, drank it that way too, and drained the cup before fixing another and taking that up the stairs with him. The coffee did a decent job of keeping him up for the first hour but soon that sleepy feeling was tugging beneath his eyes again and he rested his head next to her arm for a moment, perched in a chair. She radiated heat, it felt wonderful, and he tried to let his worry slip away for bit. It wasn't an easy feat, so very scared that the woman he was so attached to was gone all because of that stupid triangle monster thing. That moment of rest turned into several and several more before he was fast sleep, cuddled close to her.

* * *

 

"Stanley?" I whispered softly, seeing his sleeping figure next to me. I stretched a small amount, feeling him stir and winced a bit. Everything hurt....why did everything hurt? I said his name again, this time a bit louder and Stan popped up quicker than I expected, looking around in an exhausted way, one eye only half open. I laughed softly causing his eyes to lock on me and a massive grin cross his face.

"Oh Doll I was so worried..." His arms were suddenly around me, squeezing hard and almost desperately and I winced. He receding the hug quickly, apologizing over and over. I breathed out another laugh and looked down at my body, eyes widening a bit and smile falling from my face. 

"God....what happened to me?" I looked back up quickly, Stanley's eyes catching mine sharply and he clasped his hands around mine. 

"I don't much know yet...but you were screaming like we were trying to kill you....scratching up your whole body...." The words took a lot for him to say and I had an awful moment of clarity.

"I did this to myself?" The question didn't need to be answered and I shuddered, groaning and looking up at the ceiling. Stanley shuffled a bit uncomfortably, my hand still in his, and looked away as well.

"Do...do you know who Bill is?" The question made me freeze, heart beating a tad bit faster before I nodded slowly. When he didn't respond I looked up, realized he couldn't hear my head nodding and cleared my throat.

"Yeah...he's been visiting my dreams...." I spoke slowly, trying to judge his expression. It wasn't good. He squeezed his eyes shut in a pained way and hung his head. We sat in silence for a few moments before he finally found what he was going to say.

"Whatever ya do Doll....don't make a deal with him." 


	16. Something Lovely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sure I'm insane, what's your point?

Stanley and I sat for awhile, his hand in mine, talking softly about my previous dreams with Bill. He stayed quiet for most of it, grimacing at some instances and sighing at others. I couldn't remember much of what had caused me to grow frenzied though he told me exactly what had happened. Most of it felt like my brain was trying to push the awfulness away and to be completely honest I was happy to let it. My fingers ached the most and Stanley had already had to redress them once, re-wrapping the leg for good measure. Ford's salve was covering them completely but there was a deep ache that the ointment couldn't help. That ache flowed all the way to my mind, confused and exhausted. What a situation to be in. After I finished my stories, recollecting as much as possible, Stanley repeated his mantra about not making deals with the demon. He wouldn't give me much more information to go on which was incredibly frustrating but reassured that Ford would tell me much more. He also insisted that I tell Ford everything I had just told him. I nodded softly and Stanley reached up with a sturdy hand, catching my chin in his fingers and turning my face to look at him. My breath caught in my throat for a sudden moment and I stared into those warm eyes, the eyes he shared with his twin.

"I won't let him hurt you anymore."

A sudden noise from the doorway, a clearing of the throat, caused his hands to suddenly leave me and both of us look up sharply. My eyes flooded with guilt as I saw Ford standing there, looking more than a little upset. 

"Stanley..." The name left his mouth through gritted teeth and Stanley gave his brother an award-winning grin to which Ford frowned heavily to in response. "I'll take over from here, thank you." He dismissed his brother with a hard nod and Stanley didn't need to be told twice. Out the door and down the hall, I heard him plodding to the twins room. Probably to reassure them that everything was okay. Hopefully to reassure them that everything was okay.  

Ford moved quietly to the bed, his expression completely softened and no presence of the previous irritation there. He sat softly, raising a hand to my face to which I gladly nestled into.

"How are you feeling?" Though a simple question I didn't really know how to respond and opted for a shrug instead. There were too many things and not enough ways to handle them. He nodded understandingly and rubbed wet palms on his slacks. His glasses had fallen down his nose a bit and I smiled, reaching forward and pushing them up myself. Ford started in surprise before I caught a soft smile break through the worry that seemed to always plague him but especially now. There's always a small light even in the worst situations and this was my light. 

He stood suddenly and then held a hand out to me, a bit anxious but still smiling. I put my hand in his and tried to sit up, wincing a bit. He didn't say a word about it, not even letting his expression change but instead scooped me up into his arms in such a gentle way it only hurt a little...

_Well maybe a little more than a little...._

"Ford put me down!" I laughed and he gave a return chuckle before shaking his head seriously. 

"You certainly can't walk in yo- this condition." I caught his quick correction but decided to say nothing, remembering how awful it had been to go to bed so angry. And what it had caused...

He carried me down the stairs and I half expected to the snack machine but he by-passed the lab and continued on down a hallway I hadn't had the time to venture yet. I looked up at him but he kept his eyes straight ahead and I suppressed a giggle at how very "mysterious" he was acting. It felt good to feel at least a little happy after everything...it was okay not to worry for a little while. He pushed open a door that was already cracked with his back and I looked around a room that was very obviously his. Old calendars, a spare set of glasses-

"Oh my gosh is that a futon?" The question jumped out of me before I could stop it and he looked a bit embarrassed for a moment before setting me down on it. 

"In science there is not much room for sleep." He justified back and I nodded as seriously as I could manage, trying to match his expression. We stayed that way for a moment, staring at each other as if wanting to find words to say and knowing there wasn't a good place to start.

"I was-" He started at the same time I began to say "Do yo-" 

We both stopped quickly, gesturing for the other to go ahead. Silence again.

_At least it's not awkward..._

"I was thinking...." He began, pausing and I watched a red blush creep up his cheeks. "That you should stay in my room from now on." My eyes got a bit wider and he put his hands up defensively. "Purely for safety reasons!"

I laughed softly and tilted my head to the side. "Are you asking me to stay with you Ford?"

The question hung there for a moment, his face on fire, before nodding and avoiding eye contact. After a few moments he sighed heavily and sat down on the bed, resting a leg against mine. He put a hand up to the side of my face, pulling my gaze to his and I had a moment to think of how very different he and Stanley were. Running a finger down one of the scratches along my cheek he frowned.

"I don't want you to get hurt again..." My eyes quivered for a moment, thinking of what had happened and he grimaced a bit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head quickly and fiercely, almost knocking his hand off my face accidentally. "Not right now...can it be tomorrow please?" 

Ford looked a bit taken aback and shook his head as well. "We don't have to talk about it at all if need be." 

"No I have things I have to tell you about...just not tonight." Though I had slept so much my eyes gave him a weary look and he pulled me against his chest, warm and strong. His hands ran slowly over my back and we lay like that for so long I nearly fell asleep against him. He pushed his chest forward a bit, looking down as far as his neck would allow to glance at me. I looked up in time for him to brush a hair away from my cheeks and met his warm smile. 

_Such a strange man I'm falling in love with..._

My eyes widened at my own thought and Ford gave me a strange look in response. I lifted my head from his warmth and brushed my lips over his, so softly it hurt. He didn't give a moment of hesitation, wrapping me against him again and pushing his mouth onto mine. I let out a soft sigh and he took the moment to run his tongue over my lips. My body immediately strained against his at the action, yearning to be closer to his heat, to what I hoped was his love. So easily I barely noticed, he shifted me with no pain to speak of and I found my legs draped gently over his own, almost sitting in his lap but not quite. I opened my eyes for a moment, seeing his closed lids, feeling his mouth move over mine. His hands whispered up my arms causing me to shiver, one hand finding the back of my neck and squeezing lightly. I'd never known that spot to be one of pleasure but I certainly felt it now. 

I pulled my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as best I could and felt the soft burn of the wounds there against his cool skin. It didn't deter me in the least, feeling closer to Ford than I ever had. He pulled away, breathing a bit harder than before and feathered kisses down my cheek, not taking a moment to stop. The sensations were fantastic, his hand kneading the back of my neck, his mouth running down my cheek to the front. His other hand began straying forward, starting on my shoulder and lifting slightly, as if I could get any closer to him. I was fully in his lap now and noticed that my squirming to be close had had a strong effect. Feeling him against me, strong and full with so little stimulation only made the fire rise in my chest. When his hand began to move down, running over my chest, I made no move to stop him. The brief realization that I still had tattered clothing on crossed my mind only for me to be a tad bit thankful for the fact. Ford must have realized the same thing as I felt him brush over bare skin with no effort, a small gasp leaving both of us. The gasp shattered the quietness of the room, only previously disturbed by our labored breathing. His fingers felt like fire, burning where he touched in the most delightful way and I untangled a hand from his hair.... _when had that gotten there_....long enough to hurriedly grasp his hand and press it against my chest. I sighed in pleasure and let out an almost mewling sound as his fingers slipped my underclothes down and ran over my breasts. 

He was moving so slowly, so gently and it was almost unnerving as I felt the warmth grow inside of me. At the same time that my impatient mind strained for him I loved the ways he touched me, softly, gingerly, agonizingly. His mouth found mine again, hungrier than before and I pressed back hard in response as both his hands kneaded against my chest. Every so often he would run a thumb over me and I would gasp against him. My hands moved down from his neck, nearly getting tangled along the way, and I rose them above my head. He pulled away for a moment, confusion covering his hungry eyes before he began tugging the remnants of my shirt and underclothes off. I shivered as goosebumps flushed down my skin but soon let out a low moan as his mouth found my chest. His tongue flicked over me, my body reacting sharply every time and my hands found themselves in his hair again. At some point, though I don't know when, Ford had laid me down fully on the bed. Pulling away, making sure his mouth drew away as slowly as possible to cause a shudder to flow out of me, he looked down at my body. I looked away embarrassed, arms moving up to cover myself but he quickly caught them both in one large hand, gently pulling them above my head.

"B-be gentle Ford..." I managed to whisper out only to be met with a sweet smile and head nod. He released my wrists, hands flowing back down my body to reach my lower half, I gave his sweater a sudden tug. He stopped and I saw that glint of fire in his eyes, pulling the sweater off the rest of the way. His bare chest met mine and I moaned again, a bit louder this time and had to bite my lip to stifle it. Without putting much thought forward I snaked my hand down between us, as he wasn't fully on top of me, and rubbed my hand over him once then again. He made a low sound in his throat, one of sudden pleasure, and kissed me fervently. My fingers, still wrapped tightly, could find no traction on the clasp of his slacks and in frustration I pulled sharply on them, moaning into his mouth and grinding my body against his. Any pain that might have been there was ignored by how absolutely amazing this was. He laughed against me and undid the clasp himself, rolling to the side for a moment to pull them away. His body now fully in front of me I bit my lip again before being pulled closer, mouth peppering kisses down my chest to the heat in my stomach. My mind was becoming so muddled with the pleasure that I could hardly think straight and wrapped a hand fully around him, earning a shudder and now very open groan. The sound made my heart race faster and suddenly I could wait no longer. I pulled away the rest of my clothing and felt the heat between my legs, yearning to have him inside of me. Ford ran a hand down my side, achingly slow, and as he reached my legs I caught it in my own wrapped hand, lacing the fingers between his six. Such a perfect fit. He very slowly rose to meet me, mouth held strongly against mine though we were barely kissing. I wrapped my free arm around his back, urging him without speaking, and he began to slide into me. I let out a loud breath that grew into a moan as he brought himself fully inside of me. We lay there a moment like that until I could take no more, whispering his name softly in his ear. We began to move together, rocking forward and back in a synchronized dance. Tingling moved down through my chest and into my stomach, body burning against him.

"More Ford...please..." I didn't whisper this time, though I should have made more of an effort to be quiet. He needed no more encouragement, strengthening his thrusts into me before I felt myself teetering on the edge. He lifted his face to mine, biting softly on my swollen lip and I groaned as he began to hit a spot inside of me that felt like starbursts of pleasure. The orgasm came so slow I hardly knew it was there until my body began to tremble and shake, my hips rocking into him harder and harder out of the pleasure. As I tightened around him he gasped and wrapped his hands around my breasts hard, moving harder and further into me. I moaned his name out loudly, unable to contain the ecstasy, and he made a sudden movement, burying himself deep. His own body shuddered against mine for a few moments before collapsing next to me. We were both buzzing from the experience, breathing hard and fast, and he wrapped a solid arm around my side, burying his face in my hair. We lay like that, sleep tugging at my eyes and I assumed his as well.

"I love you."

 


	17. Something Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of us is tempting fates, Sixer...

I awoke slowly, wrapped around a warm pillow and covered with a blanket. Feeling happiness drifting through me, that same lovely warmth, I stretched out my legs, the toes pointed as far as they would go. My leg gave a resound protest against the stretch but didn't feel as bad as it had the previous day. What a relief. Finally, after resigning myself to getting up, I rose and looked around the room, empty except for me. The eye roll came before I could stop it, not that he was there to see it, and I hesitantly stepped down off of the futon, heaving a rather large sigh at the pressure on the wound. My heart warmed a bit, taking a few steps forward, thinking about what Ford had said last night. A grin found it's way onto my face and, not paying good enough attention, I stumbled and went down hard on the bad leg, hissing softly. 

_Well at least I can walk some..._

Not even the pain could dampen my mood, so ready and happy to continue on today. The next issue to tackle was how very naked I was. Hobbling around the room, collecting and awkwardly putting on my under clothes, realizing that my tattered clothing from yesterday could not be worn, I grimaced. All my clothes were upstairs and there was no way to make it up there alone with this stupid leg. I decided to just throw on some of Ford's clothes and go down to the lab, hopefully without being caught by Stanley....or worse the kids. Searching through a dresser I found a black sweater and black slacks and figured they would have to do. The sweater fit okay, though the arms were much too long and it felt more like a dress, but the pants almost ate me alive. I finally hitched them up and belted tightly, hoping Ford wouldn't be too upset that I'd punched a new hole in one of his belts. This would just have to do. I slowly made my way out of the room and down the hall way, seeing the sun cascading in through a window and wondering how early or late it might be. After sneaking a peek through the door into the store front of the Mystery Shack and assuring that it was only Wendy, I walked in and made a beeline for the snack machine. Wendy immediately saw me and raised a hand to wave, before putting it to her mouth and snickering instead. I held a finger up to my lips, stifling a laugh and turning back to the snack machine. My heart also almost jumped out of my chest as I nearly ran into Mable.

"HAI!" She shouted and I jumped a second time, out of the sheer loudness of her voice. "Why are you wearing boy clothes?"

I turned a bit red and tried to mull over an excuse in my mind, not quite coming up with something solid by the time another voice sounded behind me.

"Wait arn't those Grunkle Ford's clothes?" Dipper's voice, sounding incredibly suspicious compared to his usual awkward tone.

_Seriously....these two had to show up now..._

"Ah I just..uhm....my clothes are dirty and he loaned me some!" The words rushed out of me and Dipper narrowed his eyes. Mable, seemingly out of nowhere, 'blopped' me on the nose or some noise like that, and dropped down next to her brother. She wiggled her eyebrows and looked up at me as suggestively as a 12 year old could.  

"Do you  ** _like_** Grunkle Ford?!?!?!" My blush immediately intensified to a deep crimson and I again didn't have the chance to respond. Dipper's eyes got wide and Mable let out a loud shriek, running circles sideways around her brother while declaring "I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT", a feat I thought impossible until seeing the small girl do it. Her scream continued until Stanley walked into the room, holding both hands to his ears. Walking over he picked her up by the back of her pink sweater and began to say something before spotting me and letting the words fall from his mouth. I couldn't read the expression on his face, caught somewhere between anger and something else, something that made his eyes glimmer. 

"Kids get outta here, yer scarin the customers." Stanley finally declared, dropped Mable and shooing them both away with his hands. Dipper shot me another suspicious gaze, though not unkind, and followed after his bouncing sister who had already moved on to something else outside. Their Grunkle looked me over without any shyness, head to feet and I felt my blush stay firmly in place. 

"Call me crazy but those don't look like your clothes." He finally said, gaze reaching back up to mine and I met his eyes firmly, shaking my head.

"No they're not...I can't get up to my room by myself to change though." The truth seemed like the best option at this point and I could see a bit of pain flash across his eyes before clearing quickly, replaced with a warm smile. 

"Well I'm happy to help you up there." Just like that he didn't seem upset or off put and my tension cleared, nodding gratefully to him. We slowly made our way back through the Employees Only door and up the stairs. He tried to carry me more than once but I wouldn't let him, insisting that if I didn't walk on it it wouldn't get better. He finally resolved himself to my stubbornness and instead supported an arm the whole way up. Making it to my room was a welcome triumph and I hobbled in on my own, turning to thank Stanley for the help but he had followed me in. 

His gaze was strange now, head tilted slightly with a small softly and I felt his eyes roaming my body again. 

"Thanks for the help Stanley, I should be able to get down on my own." I smiled a bit tensely before chiding myself for being so tense over nothing. He nodded and suddenly frowned, eyes clearing a bit and running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry Doll, head's had been bothering me a bit lately. Whadya say?" Wrinkling my nose a bit, worried about this odd behavior, I gestured towards the door. 

"I said thanks for your help, you can go. I kinda need to change..." The words came out a bit harsher than I meant and Stanley finally removed the hand from his head, fixing those honey brown eyes on me firmly. Except they were't honey brown...

He stepped towards me and I instinctively took a step back, thankfully onto my good leg. Not saying anything, just taking another steps and proving his strides were much larger than mine, he was much closer than before. 

"Stanley I said for you to go." There was no guilt in how harsh this came out, panic starting to rise and he laughed, an ugly sound that didn't sound like him at all. 

" _ **But Kid, you look so good in Sixer's clothes."**_ I gasped at his voice, clearly not Stanley at all and froze in place. He was blocking the door and also very close to me, an awful feeling that made my skin crawl. Something was inside of him....or someone. 

"You're not Stanley..." I growled and he laughed again, tilting his head. It was almost sickening watching something control someone....like...like a puppet. I shuddered and suddenly got hit with a recollection of the dream. Bill...oh god Bill had possessed Stanley before. 

"Bill?" The question came out less fiercely than I had meant for it too, more of a tremble in my voice and Stanley's body took another step towards me. Hands rising to strongly grasp my arms, holding them against my sides. I squeaked out a fearful noise and tried to look away from his eyes, the horrible feeling of fighting this fight before overcoming me. I heard him laugh again and looked up sharply as he began moving me, only to force out a breath as he slammed me into a nearby wall. The same wall that Ford...

 _ **"You smell so good...some like you and some like Sixer. Do you know how much Ole' Stan likes you? His dreams are just full of you and your body..."**_ I shuddered at his words, my thoughts disappearing and I tried to raise a leg to kick him. He stepped on my foot before I could with his rather larger shoe and I whimpered at the pain.

"G-get out of Stanley." I whispered through clenched teeth and Stanley's head cocked to one side, yellowed eyes curious. 

 _ **"And just why would I do that? I'm finally going to find out what it's like to do this thing you humans like so much. Wonder if your little body will hold up to it."**_ He crooned the last statement against my ear and my eyes immediately began leaking tears. Stanley's body was pressed against mine and ...oh god I could feel him against my leg...I squeezed my eyes shut as he began laughing again, one hand releasing my arm and catching my face in a hard squeeze. 

"D-don't ki-" Are the words I managed to get out before his mouth was covering mine, hungry and mean. He forced his tongue into my mouth and seemed to anticipate every time I went to bite it. My breath was ragged with fear, trying so hard to twist my face away from him. He suddenly captured my bottom lip between his teeth, grinding down and drawing blood. I cried out softly against the pain and he finally let go. Feeling bile rising in my throat, I had to do something, had to get away from this.

"HELP!" The scream weakly left me and I felt Stanley's large hand rise up and wrap around my neck too tightly to scream again. 

 ** _"You're so feisty...it excites this body a lot. But I can't have Fordsy finding us before I get what I want..."_** He let go of my neck and I let out a strangled gasp, bucking my body as hard as possible against him. I felt his hand at the bottom of Ford's sweater, slithering up my stomach and oh god it was so cold...the shirt was sliding up with his arm as he reached up to my bra and with no gentleness grabbed onto one breast. I whimpered again, a miserable sound, too scared to scream for fear he might kill me. 

"S-stanley please....you said you wouldn't hurt me..." My eyes were glued shut, tears falling down my face in heavy trails when the pressure on my chest suddenly lessened. I slowly opened my eyes only to be actually staring into Stanley's again, confused and horrified. He blinked rapidly, trying to understand. I was on the verge of sobbing, not knowing if it was from relief or fear when my head jerked up at at sudden voice.

"STANLEY?! HOW COULD YOU?!" The sound of a coffee mug shattering on the floor rang through the room and Stanley was off me as soon as he realized what was happening. 

"No Ford no it's not like that!" I stepped forward, hands forward, face a distressed mess.

He fixed me with a disgusting look and stepped away. 

"To think I thought I loved you." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4


	18. Something Explosive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The multiverse will be MINE!

Ford left the room at almost a run and I followed after him as quickly as possible. Giving a guilty look back at Stanley, who looked devastated and bewildered all in one, I limped through the doorway to see Ford rushing down the stairs. 

"FORD WAIT! Please listen to me!" I shouted after him but his pace didn't slow at all. I rounded the corner, forcing my steps to stay steady and quick, wincing through the awful knives of pain. The stairs were much harder, even going down, and I stumbled against the second to last, falling hard onto the floor below. A sob left me, desperate and pained and I looked up in time to see Ford's broken expression gaze at me coldly before walking out the front door. 

I laid there and cried for a moment, knowing there was no one around to help. Bill was destroying my life...

_Why?! WHAT DOES HE WANT WITH ME?!?_

Finally finding some angry form of strength I rose onto my arms, buckling once but holding the stance. Climbing onto one foot was not as difficult as it seemed and I made my way through the front door, grabbing my walking stick at last second. It immediately made things easier, especially the stairs down from the porch. Eyes wide, I searched the area around me for Ford though he seemed to disappear. Trying to think of any place he may have gone I began to wander into the woods, desperately turning in circles, trying to find some kind of clue.

"FORD!!" My scream echoed around the tall trees and I heard what sounded like scampering ahead, immediately bee-lining for the noise. I smashed through several hedges without any sort of ease and on the other side of a rather large pine tree came across Dipper, face buried in a book, insistently alternating between clicking and chewing on a pen. He looked up and gave a small gasp, immediately dropping his book and rushing over. I couldn't help but fall for a moment, landing on my knees and crying. The pre-teen squeezed me in a hug, not saying anything. 

_How pathetic am I...being consoled by a 12  year old..._

I finally was able to calm down, wiping tears away and looking up at the boy. Dipper's usual suspicious concern was easily readable across his face but I didn't have time for his questions. 

"Dipper....where is Mable?'' I needed to find Ford but these kids needed to be safe and Stanley....he couldn't be trusted. Dipper pointed back towards the shack and shrugged lowly.

"She's at the shack, I think getting ready for a sleep-over." He shuddered at the word and I groaned in frustration, caught between needing to get the kids to a safe place and finding the only person I thought could fix what was going on. Dipper tilted his head at me, still confused but being kind enough not to litter me with questions.

"Have you seen Ford?" He nodded immediately at that question and pointed in the direction I was already headed, thankfully. 

"Yeah I think he went to his special lab in the woods, it's built in a hollow, metal tree!" The excitement was palpable in the kids voice and in any other situation I would have found it horridly interesting. I nodded and climbed to my feet slowly, with Dipper's help, slowly heading in the direction he had pointed. Suddenly thinking better of it I turned and grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him the most parental look I could muster. 

"Dipper you must go and get your sister from the shack. Go get her and bring her to the lab here. Don't talk to anyone at the shack. ANYONE." Dipper's eyes reflected fear now and in a shaky voice he asked why. 

"I need you to trust me." I didn't have time to explain everything, didn't want to relive the situation at the moment anyways. And I had to find Ford. Dipper gave a strong nod, steeling his expression and taking off in a full sprint towards the shack. I quickly made my way towards this so called secret lab, wondering how the hell I was going to find it. 

_He said a hollow tree....a hollow, metal tree....OH!_

Like a light bulb going off in my head, an idea struck hard and I rose my walking stick, smacking it against a nearby tree. A little too hard. My arm shook with the vibrations of the impact and I rubbed it softly. 

"Ow....that's definitely a real tree..." I said to the empty woods and continued on, tapping every tree I passed, listening for a sound other than the soft  _thump_ of hitting an actual, mossy tree. 

Before too long I had gone far enough from the shack to be worried about missing it, turning in a full circle. All the damn trees looked the same. My eyes flitted from leaf to leaf, branch to branch, when I suddenly saw a branch that looked suspiciously like a lever. Hobbling over I raised the stick again, swinging it full force towards the trunk and gasping as a loud  ** _CLANG_** rang all around. I grinned, so happy to finally find it, and began smacking the metal again and again, sounding like the bass in a drum line. 

"FORD! FORD OPEN UP! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Had I not been so desperate to find the man it may have seemed a bit crazy to be smacking and screaming at a tree in the middle of no where. Well...desperate or not it was a bit crazy. I upped the rhythm of the smacking, my arm still strong enough to keep the pace and only stopped upon hearing a loud  _woooosh_ of air from below. 

"Go. Away." His voice, though angrier than I had ever heard it, sent shock waves through my and I collapsed against the metal, tears falling again. 

"FORD PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO COME TALK TO ME!" The silence that followed my plea was deafening and I thought he had left again, raising my walking stick to pull his attention by the time he spoke. 

"I have nothing to say to you." I understood how very angry he was and he had every right to think what he did but damned if this man wasn't stubborn. 

"FORD! IT'S BILL! HE HAS STANLEY!" There had been no intention of drawing him out by telling him that, I had wanted to have a discussion about this, but the feeling of dread was growing inside of me like something awful was coming. Another  _wooosh_ sounded from below and the tree began to move upwards, causing me to lose balance and fall backwards. I gaped for a moment as the tree spun and rose, curious of the mechanics behind it, before a arched doorway became visible. Ford was standing there, handsome even in his heavy anger and he stepped onto the woods floor with a soft crunch of pine needles. His eyes flashed in a fiery way, teeth clenched together as he stepped closer, towering over me. 

"Do not lie to me. What you did....WHY!?" He boomed now and I flinched against the roar, regaining my composure enough to look at him but not to stop crying. 

"It's not a lie Ford please....I should have told you everything sooner....Stanley's been acting strange. His eyes..." Ford struggled against my words and his own anger before letting out a heavy sigh, narrowing his gaze at me.

"What about his eyes?" His question called for me to remember those awful cat eyes and I shuddered outwardly, looking away from the man in front of me. 

"They were yellow...like a cat...He kept saying awful things...he called you Sixer..." I shuddered again, pulling my knees under me and trying to push into a standing position. Feeling weak was a horrid thing and it made it worse that Bill was causing this situation. Suddenly feeling Ford's hands on my shoulders, helping to pull me up to my feet, I looked up at him. His eyes were clearer now, though that anger could still be seen bubbling under the surface. 

"If I find out you're lying..." The words stung and I shook my head angrily at him, pushing away from his hands, my own emotions rising up now.

"Why would I lie Stanford? Why would there even need to be a lie about what almost happened?!" My body shook, the raw emotions leaving me so stripped from everything that it was hard to handle. Guilt crossed his face for a moment, replaced by the cold gaze I was used to when he had work on the mind. "Why would I want that...I love  _you._ " His eyes widened a bit now and I saw that fire behind them again, being beaten down by his cold nature. I'd be damned if this situation ruined us, he won't push me away. "If I were lying why would I send Dipper back to the shack to ge- OH NO THE KIDS!" The realization that the kids should have been back by now hit my hard and I almost felt my heart stop. Ford gave me a puzzled look before also realizing that kids could be in some kind of danger, whether he fully believed me or not. 

He took off faster than I knew the man could run and I followed as quickly as possible, but not enough to keep up. Decently far ahead of me he turned and made a frustrated sound, jogging back and literally throwing me over his shoulder. 

"Ford! Put me down!" He shook his head once, not bothering to give a verbal reply, and ran just as fast as before with my added weight. We practically burst into the clearing with the shack, though nothing seemed wrong at first glance, and he finally set me on the ground. We made our way inside, where it was much too quiet. 

"DIPPER! MABLE!" I shouted into the silence, not enjoying the way it rang through the seemingly empty house. "Ford..." I put a hand on his arm, concern etched across my face and he looked down at me with a bit of softness. We began searching again, listening and looking for anything. He sprinted upstairs to check their rooms and I made my way into the storefront of the shack, glancing over the knick knacks and registers. I turned to head back into the main house and suddenly noticed that the snack machine door to the lab was hanging open. 

"FOOORD!" My scream echoed again and he bounded down the stairs, sounding like it was 2 at a time, before skidding into the same room as I.

"Oh no...oh no oh no..." Ford was down the stairs to the lab in an instant, panic filling his mumbles and I followed after him quickly. The lab was absolutely destroyed, to his and my horror, all the equipment smashed in or snapped in half. The floor was littered with papers from the journals I had seen him scribbling in, which he picked up frantically. 

"HELP! HELP US!" The sounds of the children could be heard now and I ran to the glass, pressing my face to it to see the portal room below. The children were down there and it looked like they were tied up. There was Stanley as well, grinning up at the window, unmoving. He was holding something in his outstretched hand though I couldn't quite make out what it was. I ran again, ignoring any pain, down the stairs to the portal room, shoving open the already unlocked door. Ford was right on my heels, immediately running towards his twin. Stanley laughed, not his laugh but Bill's and Ford gasped. He was holding the inter-dimensional rift in one outstretched arm. I ran to the children, attempting to untie the tight knots that had already rubbed red spots against their wrists.

"Oh kids, I'm so sorry I should have been here with you..." I whispered to them, struggling against the ropes that bound them. Neither answered, eyes trained on their two great uncles. Ford pointed angrily at his brother who simply laughed again in response. 

"CIPHER! Get out of my brother and put down the rift!" Ford's voice sounded scared, which terrified me. Stanley, walking with one hand on his hip the other outstretched like a teapot, stepped towards Ford. 

" ** _Now why would I do that?! This body's not that bad! Though I'd rather yours Sixer!"_** He sat the Rift on the ground, where it rolled slightly backwards before resting. Stanley's body walked up to Ford who had already readied his fists and rose a hand to his face, running the fingers down the stubble that Ford had.  ** _"You've got such a nice body. A much better puppet..."_** The words were so soft I barely heard them but shuddered all the same, watching Ford step back quickly and smack his brother's hand away. I trained my eye on the thing that Ford had called a Rift and decided that Bill did not need to have it. 

 ** _"Come on Fordsy, why are you being so rude? I just want to come play with you in this world!"_** Hearing Bill's warped voice coming from Stanley, making facial expressions and the like, was absolutely awful. Ford made an angry sound at his twin and stepped back again. 

"You will never get into this world Cipher. Now leave my brother!" Ford gave Stanley's body a hard shove and he teetered a moment before regaining balance, cackling like a child. 

 ** _"Oh you're so funny!! Your twin made a deal with me Ford! For the chance to get her, which I totally would have delivered on if you hadn't walked in!"_** Ford's eyes widened angrily and he swung a punch towards Stanley, missing by an inch before throwing another that made contact. Stanley's body did fall this time, smacking the floor hard and closing it's eyes. Ford kneeled quickly, grabbing his brother's hand.

"Stanley! Stanley! You have to fight him!" He pleaded with his twins body before his eyes reopened, showing those yellow cat eyes again.  ** _"Think again Sixer!"_** Bill shouted and they began to wrestle on the floor, punches flying as they rolled. I took the moment to shush the kids and begin crawling towards the Rift, still resting on the floor. I tried being as quiet as possible, though it didn't seem necessary as the two were still beating on each other, and had almost made it to the Rift when a sudden kick to the back sent me falling to the floor in pain. I looked up, slowly turning to see Stanley looking down at me, that wicked grin on his face. Ford was laying on the floor nearby, an eye beginning to swell and cradling an arm that may be broken. He kicked me again, in the stomach this time, and I cried out. Ford tried to rise angrily, crying out for me to run, but couldn't seem to get to his feet. Stanley/Bill laughed, the sound echoing through the room coupled with Ford's labored breathing and the kids screaming for us to get up. He picked up the Rift again, stretching out his arm and tilting a head towards Ford.

 **_"I'm done with playtime for now Fordsy. See ya real soon though!"_ **

As if in slow motion he dropped the Rift, Ford screaming out for him to stop, the kids screeching in fear and Stanley's eyes locked on mine. 

**_"You shoulda taken the deal kid."_ **

 

 


	19. lliB gnihtemoS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sixty degrees that come in threes.  
> Watches from within birch trees.

The sound of glass cracking as it hit the lab's cement floor was an awful one, a sound of dread and fear. The sounds that followed though...nothing could compare to those. A massive blue light burst out of the shattered orb, swirling around Stanley's body as he laughed, body jerking in odd directions. The whole room shook, pieces of the broken portal falling everywhere, the glass window above the room shattering, like a massive earthquake was flowing through. It became harder and harder to breath, the air growing thin and hot. Suddenly the blue light turning circles around Stanley brightened causing us all to shield our eyes and Bill's form slipped easily out of the puppet, sending his body falling to the floor in an terrible heap. Bill laughed now, a sound that echoed through every inch of your brain, spun around while stretching his limbs and staring down at us with that large eye. I shrunk back as much as possible, crawling closer to Ford who was frozen, fear in his eyes like I'd never seen. 

 ** _"oh MAN! I'M BACK! AHHAHAHAHA!!! FINALLY! Decades of waiting, I wish I knew that the Pines were my ticket!"_** Bill spun around again and I held my hands to my ears, frustrated that the way he spoke was like a voice inserted into your mind. 

Ford's expression finally changed when he heard Bill speak, sitting up and staring at the demon. "You won't win Cipher! I'M GOING TO SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR OWN DIMENSION ONCE AND FOR ALL!" He shouted up, much more boldly than I thought wise at the moment. Bill immediately grew to triple his current size and got close to Ford, twisting upside down and grabbing him by the arm. Ford pulled away quickly, trying to break free but Bill simply snapped his fingers and sent him flying up into the air, hovering there. 

 ** _"Oh really!? JUST HOW WILL YOU DO THAT?!"_** The triangle demon grew red, his eye growing even larger and he shouted at Ford. It wasn't an angry shout but a powerful one, one to ensure we knew that Bill was in charge now. 

I heard the kids whimper behind me again and figured Ford could handle himself for the moment, crawling towards them. Even if he couldn't handle Bill I felt a responsibility to keep the children safe and neither of their great uncles were in a place to do that at the moment. Glancing back to ensure that Bill hadn't lost attention from Ford I noticed that Stanley seemed to be waking up, slowly raising his head to look around groggily. I made a motion for him to stay down but he couldn't seem to see what I was doing and rose further to tell. 

_No! Dammit Stanley...._

I angrily waved my arms in a 'no' gesture and he finally nodded in response, laying his head back down but it was too late. I had been too active and Bill had certainly noticed as he was staring between Stanley and I now, waiting for our exchange to finish.

_Oh how polite..._

**_"Well well well, if ole' Stanley isn't awake now too! Man! Do I have a lot of thanks to give you!"_** Bill snapped another finger and now Stanley was flying into the air like his brother, covered in blue light. He struggled for a moment, unable to find traction in the gravity-less environment the magic caused, and the demon laughed, spinning both Pines around quickly to face each other. Stanley and Ford stared at each other for a moment, nothing either could say to begin to explain and Bill sighed in a bored way.

**_"You two arn't being very fun! It's better when you fight! OooOo I've got an idea! Fight over the girl again!"_ **

I had almost made it back to the children, noticing that both were crying causing miserable guilt to rise in me, when my body began rising in to the air. I shrieked, feeling like I was underwater, and twisted my body to try and face them. The air around me was cold, compared to how hot it had just been, but the cold felt slimy against my skin and there was no control on how I moved. 

"PUT HER DOWN!" I couldn't see who was shouting but the voice was easily distinguishable as Stanley. Ford's voice echoed the statement right after Stanley's and I thought that was just what Bill wanted. The demon wheeled and dealed with tricks and deception. My body was suddenly flipped so I could see the 3 of them, upside down. Bill had shrunk again and was sitting closer to Ford, legs crossed mid-air. 

 ** _"See that Sixer, seems to me like your twin here might care a bit more about her safety!"_** Ford glared angrily up at the demon and tried to kick against the restraining power holding him in the air. 

"I'm not interested in your antagonizing Cipher!" I took a moment to be glad that Ford knew what Bill was trying to do but that moment barely last as I felt my body rocket backwards and slam into the portal room wall. A scream of surprise and pain left me, so sudden that I was left trying to catch a breath. It felt like my rip cage had been split in half. Stanley cried out for me again, demanding that Bill stop while Ford simply glared, refusing to speak. I tried to calm down, sobs wracking my body causing the pain to get worse. Bill was loving every second of everything that was happening, getting the amusement he wanted. Raising a hand, wait was that a third hand?!, and snapping again caused a large metal pipe to raise up and hover in front of me. My eyes filled with fear and Stanley began struggling even harder, Ford just a stock still as before.

"NO STOP YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER! STOP IT!" Stanley was screaming at the triangular being and Ford shot him an angry look. 

"Stanley stop giving him what he wants. Shut up." When my mind cleared, in between the waves of pain, I understood that he was right. Cipher wanted a reaction and that's what he was getting. The kids were still silent below, Mable's head hung in heavy sobs and Dipper staring helplessly up at us. They wanted so badly to help.

 ** _"Oh I'm not gonna kill her YET! She's got a big secret!! Isn't that right?!"_** His eyes focused on me now and I gave a bewildered expression back, not knowing what he meant. A secret? The pipe hovered a bit closer now and without a second to prepare slammed into my stomach, pinning me against the wall. I screamed again, vision going dark for a moment, no knowing how I was still awake. 

_Please god let me pass out...god it hurts..._

Stanley roared in anger and Ford shouted at him again to shut his mouth. "YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE REASON SHE DIES IF YOU DON'T STOP!" 

I moaned, unable to comprehend how bad it hurt, my mind just didn't understand. What a blessing that was. The pipe ground against me tighter and I cried, more tears than I thought existed in my body.

"P-p-please stop....please stop.....please...stop.." The taste of copper filled me mouth and for a moment I realized that was blood, blood that was supposed to be inside me was coming out. Finally the pipe pulled away and it was lucky that his power was holding me in the air for my body would have just folded on itself. I looked down but couldn't see a wound because of how large Ford's clothes were. A smile crossed my lips softly, head feeling incredibly light and I actually coughed out a laugh, blood floating out into the blue light with it. I saw Ford's expression become more concerned but he bit down hard on his lip to stop from talking and Stanley was chewing on his knuckles. It was such a funny scene and another laugh came. I had a moment to think that I was acting strange before pushing the thought away and staring directly at Bill.

"W-what's my secret , B-b-bill?!" I asked softly, smile flitting across my lips. My body still hurt but the pain seemed very far away. The demon flew up a bit closer when a sudden explosion in the distance shook the room. 

 _ **"OH man I almost forgot I had a apocalypse to start! We will have to keep playing later!"**_ He grew much larger again and rose a hand towards the ceiling before changing his mind and snapping his fingers. The kids began to scream as they popped out of sight and suddenly back into sight in a tiny blue cage Bill held in his hand. Laughing loudly, the kids screaming for help, he paused for another moment before looking back at me.  ** _"But let's just say Fordsy here knew your dad!"_** Leaving the last statement hanging in the air he blasted some kind of fire through the ceiling, making a massive hole. At the same time the hole appeared the pipe slammed into me again and everything went black. 


	20. SOmetHinG DIffErEnt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned Folks for a very, very, VERY special message at the end of this broadcast! I'm finally taking over this show! Kiss your author good-bye!

Everything was different. Awful and terrifying. After Bill arrived the town began changing, things coming to life that certainly shouldn't be walking around. The water tower had a mouth now filled with razor sharp teeth and water turned slime oozing down it's side. From the mailboxes that now had too many eyes to the animals mutating into monstrosities that made the actual monsters look beautiful, nothing was safe. Bill had his minions rounding up the people of the town, some turned to stone and others killed on the spot. There was no discernible reason behind any of it except chaos. In the center of the town floated a massive onyx pyramid that seemed to swirl as if a galaxy itself. Dark red lines glided through the blackness looking like blood through veins, ugly and difficult to look at. 

I woke up slowly, a haze of smoke in front of my eyes and my throat feeling like I'd swallowed a glass of sand. Lifting a hand to wipe the grit out of my eyes, trying to figure out what was going on, a dull pain registered in my arm and I realized it was an IV. Not a professional one from the looks of it, a needle haphazardly attached to small tubing, but an IV no less. Clear liquid was attached to the end of the tubing in a plastic bag and I frowned, curious what was being put into my body. My memory recalled the last thing it could through the haze and my frown deepened.

_Bill took the kids..._

I pushed up, looking around to try and find someone to talk about what was going on. The futon was under me, made softer with several blankets and pillows, and a large sheet curtain was pulled across half of the room. Half of Ford's room. Oh Ford! I opened my mouth to yell out for him and only managed out a rasping noise, needing water pretty badly. 

_This is frustrating._

Finally growing tired of waiting and also being a very impatient person, I slowly rose off of the makeshift bed, testing my body. Two legs and neither hurt. A quick look down revealed that the wound on my leg was actually healing, the split growing together into what would be a nice scar. It also revealed that I was nearly naked, underclothes and a massive ace bandage covering my torso being the current outfit. Another wound, this one much newer, was open across my stomach and up to lie under a breast, an ugly bruise surrounding it. Oddly it didn't hurt much, looking a lot worse than it felt, and I wondered how long it had been since Bill had gotten into our world. Reaching down I slowly withdrew the IV needle, wincing as it came out, and walked towards the curtain. Pulling it away a few feet I saw the living room couch shoved into the corner on this side, someone I'd never met laying there asleep. So this was some kind of infirmary? I spotted Ford's dresser and rummaged through it quietly, not being able to find much of anything other than papers and junk. In the bottom drawer I finally found a lone pair of black pants and though these seemed smaller and much older than the other pair I had worn before, they still hung off me. I turned to the mirror in the room, appraising my body and frowning. Bones protruding in places and I wondered again how long had it been. Finally dragging my eyes away from a rib cage I'd never seen this much of, I made my way to the door of the room, cursing softly as it creaked. Most of the lights in the house were off and it seemed like night time, though my internal clock was no help in the situation. My feet padded softly along the hard wood, walking towards the living room and shivering a bit from the lack of a shirt. 

I let out a soft gasp upon entering the living room. Sleeping bodies were everywhere, creatures I'd only ever seen in story books, all looking worse for wear. What had happened here? I walked back down the hall towards the kitchen and peeked in, seeing Stanley asleep at the table, head on his arms. Staring at him for a moment, hesitant because of everything, I finally put the bad thoughts away and walked over to sit down next to him. He stirred a bit as I sat, picking his head up quickly and looking around with wide eyes. The panic was raw there and I quickly put a hand on his arm, hopefully to help calm him. He jumped at the touch before finally looking at me, sleepily rubbing his cheek.

"Sorry I uh fell asleep...been so tired..." He mumbled before his eyes suddenly popped open again and he grabbed me by the shoulders, causing a wince. "You're awake! Oh my god you're actually awake!" Stan shook me once as if to make sure I was actually there before dropping his head to my shoulder, audibly crying. If I wasn't confused before I definitely was now. We sat like that for a few moments, his tears running down my bare back and catching on the ace bandage that was at least saving me from embarrassment. When he finally raised his head again, eyes swollen, a massive grin was across his face. I smiled softly in reply, very happy to see that old expression and sat back a bit. 

"We didn't know if you were...ever going to...wake up." He stumbled over the words before sighing, looking away. "I was so scared..." The words hit me hard but I was still very lost on the situation. 

"Stanley...what is going on here?" He mulled over the question for a moment.

"Well ever since Bill took over things have been pretty bad. He's got the kids and Ford thinks they might be ..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words, tears threatening again. "I think he's wrong though. Ford and I take turns scoutin through the town, lookin for people. That's where he is right now...It was his idea to start bringin survivors here." I stopped him for a moment, tilting my head.

"Survivors?" The question hung between us for a moment, Stan's eyes focused on the table before he continued.

"Yeah survivors...Bill's ah been killin people. Takin some and killin others. It's pretty bad doll." I couldn't believe what he was saying, people dying? How could this happen?! His voice continued on and I had to force myself to focus. "So we've been bringin people here to keep em safe. Ford's makin this plan to try and get the hell outta this town. He's just gonna get us all killed." 

As if on cue the door to the kitchen shook and a roughened looking group began to pile in. Wendy, the red haired girl I'd met a few times, came in looking like a true survivalist, followed closely by a small boy that had to be related to her. Soos was there as well, tools strapped around his waste tightly, still holding a chipper expression. More people filed in, 6 or 7, with various types of gear and supplies. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, searching the crowd for Ford. Wendy saw me sitting at the table and laughed, raising her hand for a high five which I returned as best as possible.

"I can't believe your back up man! Welcome back!" She ruffled the small boys red hair and walked towards the living room with him. Soos shot me a thumbs up, following after them without saying anything. A few of the others approached me, Susan and a large, hairy man with horns. An older man with a beard so long it seemed ridiculous stopped by and we eyed each other for a moment after he told me how happy he was I was alive. They all seemed so happy that I was awake even though barely knowing me. I nodded politely to each and looked back towards the others, heart suddenly catching in my throat. There he was, looking rugged and solemn. His stubble had grown out, heavy and dark to match his dark circles of obvious sleep deprivation. He was just as handsome if not maybe a bit more. His eyes scanned the room, nodding at a couple people before falling onto me. Everything in his arms suddenly dropped to the floor as he rushed to me. I was completely surrounded by him before I could think and took a deep breath, shoving myself as hard as I could into his sweater. The tears finally came from me, so happy that he was okay and he stroked my hair lovingly. The room emptied out rather quickly, the last to leave being Stanley. I finally pulled away enough to shove my mouth to his, a gesture he sweetly returned. 

"You're alive...I was so scared..." He murmured against my cheek, lips brushing over tear trails softly. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Don't worry, it's not that easy to get rid of me." I replied and he chuckled softly, chest warm against mine. We stood like that for a moment longer before he sighed, looking over the wound on my stomach. 

"Well it's healed a bit better than I had imagined it would with our limited resources. How's your leg?" He ran his hand down my stomach and to the leg and I shivered again, wondering where his thoughts currently were.

"It's so much better. For some reason I think that has something to do with Bill...Ford, how long have I been out?" Ford grimaced now, looking up and rubbing a hand sheepishly over his head. 

"If I remember correctly it's been about...6 days..." I gasped as soon as the words left his mouth. "6 days?! That's insane! But the kids!" I pushed away from him now, appalled by how much I had missed. Bill had had the children for 6 days and there was no telling what he was doing to them. Ford shook his head, staring at the ground.

"There's no way the children are still alive. Stanley want's to believe differently but there is just no way." He met my eyes again and saw the immediate anger there, my eyes flashing at his coldness.

"What if you're wrong!? What do you plan to do otherwise?!" I was shouting without meaning to, so frustrated that nobody had tried to help them yet, so frustrated that Ford seemed to be the only one that could make me so angry so easily.

"Please lower your voice. I'm not wrong, there's no way or reason Bill would have kept them alive. There was a way we could stop Bill but without the children it's impossible now. So we're holing up here until we can figure out a way out of Gravity Falls. Bill can't leave, hopefully won't be able to figure it out for a very long time. It's what I was working on all those years ago..." I wrinkled my nose at him, stepping away again.

"So it's not a matter of if, but when. We have an obligation here Ford....we have to stop him. We have to try and save the kids." Ford went to shake his head again, to refuse and I wouldn't let him. "With your help or not I'm going to try."

"You've been comatose for 6 days!" He nearly shouted. "You know nothing of the world as it is now and you intend to take on a demon for no reason! You're going to die!" I shrugged and started slowly walking towards the hallway to go upstairs. 

"At least I'm trying Ford." I spat back and walked around the archway to the hall, almost running into Stan who was eavesdropping. I glared at him lightly before beginning to climb the stairs, wanting to get a pack of some sort together. Then I would talk to the people I knew here, see if anyone would help me. Ford was correct, I didn't know anything about anything right now but that wasn't going to stop me from trying. Stan followed me up the stairs but didn't come into my room, seeming to think better of it. 

"I can help you. I want to go." He said softly and I smiled back at him. We could do this. 

"We're going to save those kids." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright monsters and gentlemen, I've got big, big plans for your author and this story. BIG PLANS! But I'm going to need a little bit of your help with the Grand Finale! Hahahah! DoeSNT THaT souND GreAT?! I'm going to give you a Riddle! You've got to figure it out before the next chapter because I'm going to be offering you a deal. If you decide to take that deal has a very different consequence to this story than if you decide not to! REMEMBER YOUR AUTHOR IS UNDER MY CONTROL! SHE IS NOTHING BUT A PUPPET WRITING FROM MY STRINGS! I WILL CONT- oh my god he's in my head, whatever you do don't take his de-ROL THE WORLD! AH HAH! AHAHAHAHAH!
> 
> Some deals are easy, others are tough  
> what you decide could make things very rough  
> one choice will lead to my ultimate demise  
> the other will make sure that everyone dies  
> When offered the deal by the triangular man  
> shake his hand if you trust in Stan  
> but if your safety lies in what you feel  
> trust in Ford and refuse the deal


	21. Zhlugpdjjhgrq

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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Stanley began talking as I grabbed various items from the guest room, pocket knives, rope, whatever looked like it might be useful. He was giving me any information his brain could pull about what was going on out there because honestly we we're going to need it. Apparently they're were large flying eyeballs running around turning people to stone, massive monsters killing people without a second thought, absolutely nothing was safe. And in the middle of all that was a pyramid we needed to get to. I took a deep breath, steadying my weakened body and nodded along as he spoke, trying to take in all the awfulness. Walking to the dresser where my clothing had been hastily shoved to make room, I pulled out the darkest clothes I had here, black pants and a grey sweater. Changing in front of Stanley should've caused me more embarrassment but at this point it really didn't seem to matter to either of us. I pulled Ford's pants off my thinned figure and happily pulled on my own. Stanley had never stopped speaking but had kindly looked away until I was finished, shoving my hair into a hasty ponytail. We walked towards the attic room now, Stanley finally ending his retelling with a story of a monster with only an arm, hand and head. The thought made me shudder as I slowly pushed open what had been the twins room, walking into the small amount of dust that had accumulated. Mable's bed was a mess, unmade, covered in craft supplies and something I suspected was glitter. Dipper's bed was completely opposite, made up perfectly with his pack sitting neatly on top of the covers, looking pristine. The pack was what I was after, knowing that Dipper carried it almost everywhere because it was full of survival supplies. I stood in front of it for a moment, closing my eyes and wishing more than anything they were okay, feeling guilty. 

_I should have told someone sooner about Bill....this may never have happened..._

The pack fit nicely over one shoulder and I let out a soft breath before turning back to Stanley. My eyes widened as I saw him standing in the doorway, eyes red and full of tears, chest heaving as he stared at the room. I crossed back with long strides and wrapped my arms tightly around him, wiping at the tears with the sleeve of my sweater.

"Stanley...don't worry....they're fine. We're going to go get them, okay?" He didn't reply, head dropped to my shoulder just as it had in the kitchen, crying until it seemed he had nothing left to cry. 

"I love those kids, It's my fault they could be...could b-b-be-" Another sob cut of his words and I squeezed him tightly again, shaking my head. 

"They are not though. They are absolutely fine and we're going to kick this demon back to where he came from and save the day. You'll be Stan the hero!" I poked him in the back halfheartedly and he lifted his head, rewarding me with a weak smile behind the tears. We were both scared, scared to try, scared to be wrong, but this was the only choice. Running away was absolutely not a choice. I bit my lip hard, still very angry at Ford and dumb-founded that he would make such an awful decision. Stan finally pulled away from me, scrubbing hands over his face and sighing.

"So toots, you got everything you think you need?" I thought for a moment and shook my head.

"Not at all but it's the best we're going to get. We need weapons too..." Stanley grinned at that statement, a welcome change from the tears and nodded.

"I can take care of that. Let's go see who in this rat pack will join us." 

* * *

 

Stanley did not disappoint in the weapons department and the group of survivors residing in the shack we're volunteering left and right. The twins had been popular in town and it wasn't a surprise as to why, they were great kids. Stanley and I had taken roles as leaders of this group and had warned everyone of the risks of volunteering to go with us. A few had gone off to find Ford, preferring the plan to leave and it made my heart ache. The ones that stayed though we're ready to fight back, some for different reasons than others. Wendy and what I learned was her little brother volunteered, fierce and ready to fight back. Soos, covered in several gnomes, volunteered because "why not dude" and I assumed that meant the gnomes were coming as well. Many others, the older man who made me feel uncomfortable but everyone said was a genius, a blonde girl and boy who I had first mistook for being related before they both informed me of how incorrect that was we're both in the fight for Mable, neither liking Dipper much. Also ready to fight for Mable were her best friends, who I had seen around briefly. Our group grew to about 15 before Stan and I decided it was large enough, knowing we still had to be stealthy to some extent. We gave everyone an hour or so to get ready, pack bags and choose weapons. Stan had left a rather large pile of various clubs, guns and blades on the floor of the living room and I couldn't say I was surprised he had them. While everyone was preparing and talking together I went to find Ford, though still angry I was very aware this may be the last time I ever see him. That hurt.

Searching the house I finally found him around front, sitting at the picnic table we had shared before, staring off towards the woods with what looked like a blaster gun next to him. It was exactly safe to be outside. He didn't move when I sat next to him, didn't even look in my direction. I sat my hand on top of his, trying to lock our fingers together.

"Ford..."

"Please don't do this." 

I stared at him for a moment, his eyes still trained on the trees, before replying.

"I have to. Those kids d-"

"Those kids are dead. You will be too if you try this." He turned quickly as he said it, staring down into my eyes with his own watery gaze. "I...I want to believe they're not gone but there is no way. Now my brother and the only woman I've ever loved are going to die at Bill's hands as well. Please..." Ford's voice cracked as he said it, resting both hands on my shoulders now, pleading with me. I felt my own tears begin to leak, shoving them away angrily.

"I have to try. If I don't try...it won't be a life worth living. All we will ever do is run." I tried to hold a firm voice but it shook, the same fear from before rising again. I wasn't some brave heroine here to save the day. I was just a normal girl in an abnormal situation. 

"But I will still have you then, at least." Ford pressed his forehead against mine and I felt my heart break a bit. This really was a good-bye and we both knew it. "There's only one way to stop Bill and we have to have the children to do so. We can't stop him."

"I have to try." The words sounded so final, nearly whispered in the small space between us, and Ford made a miserable noise before pressing his lips hard against mine. The kiss was all salty sadness and pain but I returned it no less, feeling his arms pull me closer to him, wanting it to never end. We finally broke apart and he brushed a few strands of hair off my cheek, letting his hand stay and rest there. 

"I love you." He pressed his lips against mine again and my heart ached like it never had before. I opened my mouth for him, feeling his tongue explore and move, hooking my fingers in his hair as we kissed. I could still feel the tears running down both our cheeks but didn't care, pulling harder at his hair until he suddenly pulled away and began kissing down my neck, teeth nipping in places. In between each kiss he would say his love again, desperate and sad. He reached my collar bone and bit down hard and in an instant I felt heat bloom in my stomach, grabbing his head and pulling it back to my lips. There was no thought of anything other than each other, hands racing to touch everywhere on each others body, pulling at each others clothes. I snaked my hands under his sweater and clawed hard, not worrying to hurt him, and the sound I got in reply was one of pleasure. He suddenly stood, pulling me off the bench and over to their old car. I barely registered it, mouth trying to find his again and instead peppering kisses over his shirt. He opened the door with one hand and practically tossed me along the back seats with the other, climbing in and slamming the door. If the desperation had not been present enough before it certainly was now, his hands pulling my sweater up but not off and hungrily covering my breast with his mouth. My hands were undoing his belt, sliding down his zipper and wrapping my hands around him greedily. I could feel the heat and wetness of myself immediately, his body grinding against mine in the close quarters. His hands went from tangles in my hair to pulling my pants down, fingers sliding up and under the edge of my underwear. One finger then two slid into my body and I gasped, bucking my hips against him. Ford moaned into my mouth, biting down on my lip and pumping his fingers in and out. My own hands were still stroking him as quickly as I could, feeling him harden and grow stiff only bringing me closer to the edge. He shifted slightly and I suddenly felt a third finger enter me, gasping against the tightness. He curled his fingers inside me and my back arched with the amazing feeling that brought.  Before I even had a warning my body tensed and I shuddered out a breath, his name following on a moan, orgasm rocking like nothing I had ever felt. My body trembled and numbed in places as I rode the pleasure, his fingers still plunged deep inside me. He groaned, moving his own hips hard against my hand and I felt his own spasms match mine as he finished.

When I could finally breath again I caught his eyes with my own, kissing him once more strongly. 

"I love you Ford. And I will see you again to tell you as much."

* * *

We snuck away to clean up, knowing people would be looking for us soon. We said another good-bye, this one less tearful with promises of my return and he had quietly hooked his blaster around my waist. He took his jacket off slowly, black and tattered , and hung that on me as well. I would have protested but the heavy weight of both items made me feel stronger and he nodded, looking me over.

"You look ready to kill." I smiled, knowing that he was right, and shrugged.

"I am." 

I chose to leave then, not knowing if another good-bye was within my ability right now, and walked towards the living room. It was impressive to see everyone geared up and ready to go, weapons on every person. I looked up at Stanley and nodded which he returned a smile to. The room grew quiet and I took a step forward, looking over everyone.

"I know that I don't know all of you very well, but you are all amazing for helping us in this. Our plan is an easy one, as far as writing it out goes. We make it into and to the center of town where Bill usually is and where I've been told he takes people. We get in, find the prisoners and get out." The room made quiet chatter, nodding along with the idea and I cleared my throat to make them grow silent again.

"We stay quiet, we stay out of the way, and we try not to be spotted by anyone. We only fight if we have to, but if we do we fight to kill." A much more solemn atmosphere passed through the room now and everyone nodded once in reply, understanding the risks. Stanley looked around at everyone before raising his fist in the air, brass knuckles shining and shouting triumphantly. The room brightened immediately, roaring back with their weapons raised. I turned and opened the door, staring out at the reddened, ugly sky. 

"Let's go." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright kids, Did ya think about that riddle?! Figure out who's more important to ya?! I SUREEEEE HOPE SO! Keep on thinkin on it because I'm gonna offer ya a deal REALLL SOON!


	22. Zkr zloo brx fkrrvh wr vdyh?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 01001111 01101000 00100000 01100100 01100101 01100001 01110010 00101100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100101 01101101 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101111 01100110 01100110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100100 01100101 01100001 01101100 00101110 00100000 01000011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00101100 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01100011 01100001 01110010 01100101 01100100 00101110 00100000 01001010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01101111 01110110 01100101 01110010 00101110 00100000

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8-5-12-16 13-5 16-12-5-1-19-5  
> 15-14-5, 20-23-15, 19-9-24, 20-8-9-18-20-5-5-14, 19-5-22-5-14-20-5-5-14  
> 23-8-5-18-5 1-13 9  
> 15-14-5, 20-23-15, 19-9-24, 20-8-9-18-20-5-5-14, 19-5-22-5-14-20-5-5-14  
> 5-22-5-18-25-20-8-9-14-7 9-19 4-1-18-11  
> 15-14-5, 20-23-15, 19-9-24, 20-8-9-18-20-5-5-14, 19-5-22-5-14-20-5-5-14  
> 15-8 14-15...8-5'19 2-1-3-11
> 
> 3-8-5-3-11 20-8-5 3-8-1-16-20-5-18-19

Making our way to the town should have been an easy two mile walk but with all the creatures we encountered, good and awful, it took much longer than that. Somehow we had gained a new party member and lost two existing ones, some small man with a strange face and glasses joined us and two of the gnomes fell off of Soos and scampered away into the forest. At least twice we had had to duck away behind the trees as 'eye-bats' flew by, illuminating the ground with a red beam that poured straight from the pupil. If an eyeball with wings wasn't terrible enough, their skin looked leathery and broken in places, difficult to look at with out feeling a bit insane. There was idle chatter between all of us, Stanley and I leading up the group and keeping an eye on everything. We had made it another half a mile without anything happening when I turned to Stanley and gestured back towards the group. 

"Do you think that we have a pretty good chance at this? I mean....I don't know a lot about Bill but what I've met of him is...." I shuddered, thinking back to my dreams. "Awful. He's really awful." 

Stanley seemed to think about the question for a moment, idly kicking a pebble along the dirt and gravel road. "Honestly you've got a better idea than I do about 'em. Nothin is gonna stop me from tryin to get those kids back though. I know that for sure." 

I nodded hard, knowing that was what really mattered in the situation. I just had this awful feeling of doom looming over my every thought and feeling. It would be so much easier if Ford had been there with us, if he wasn't running away. He could give us the information we needed. I recalled how he had said there was a way to beat Bill but we had to have the children to do it...but he never told me exactly what that way was. Ford really did think we were going to fail. Pulling me from my thoughts, the older hillbilly in our midst shouted that something was coming and we scattered into both sides of the forest. I hadn't realized but we were close enough to see the buildings in the town, some roaming around sentient, and the massive pyramid looming over everything. It was somehow the ugliest and most beautiful thing my eyes had ever laid on. It hurt to look at for too long but there was also a terrible longing to never look away from the galaxies that spun over the bricks. I blinked hard, finally pulling my gaze away, only to see everyone in the group with their eyes locked on it as well. Physically pulling Stanley and Wendy's heads in a different direction, their eyes immediately losing the glazed expression, they began doing the same to the others. I surveyed the road, finally seeing a large green goblin looking monster with...eight balls for eyes...walking next to a literal set of walking, chattering teeth. I had to stifle a gasp and we all hovered in our hiding spots, staring at the monstrosities, though most of the others didn't seem nearly as surprised to see these creatures. But how on earth could that monster see with eight balls for eyes?! It made no sense. Nothing here made sense. They we're talking to each other about Bill and I quieted my thoughts to listen in. 

"Yeah Boss is still pretty steamed about the not being able to leave this stupid town. He straight threw Xanthar out of the Fearamid." The thing with toys for eyes said and the teeth chattered several times before responding in a very nasally voice for something that didn't have a nose.

"You think I don't know he's angry! That's why we're out here looking for that six fingered freak!" The chattering happened again and they continued talking but I wasn't hearing them. They were looking for Ford and heading straight in the direction of the shack. I turned fearful eyes up to Stanley but he shook his head, raising a finger to his lips. I stared at the ground for a moment, angry but knowing that we wouldn't be able to go back. We had left on this mission and heading back could endanger everything. Once the two were completely out of sight we all began to hesitantly rise, looking around for anyone else that may be coming. I gestured to the group on the other side of the road to move forward and we resumed into the town. The group was still chattering and I was catching snip-its here and there but remained silent as did Stanley. 

_ "Was it talking about Ford?" _

_ "The Fearamid must be that thing..." _

_ "What did he mean not being able to leave the town?" _

I held up a hand to the group as we met the edge of the actual main road, looking around for hiding spots and things to be hiding fun. It was eerily quiet in the town, the only sound being the distant roar of the the moving buildings and a low hum that came from the Fearamid. Slowly we made our way past the shops, staying in the alley ways as much as possible. The older man with the long beard was directly ahead of me and he suddenly jumped up, dispelling the silence with a rather large shout. 

"WE GOTTA GET TO MY HIDEYHO-MMPHMMAPJFDK" Stanley grabbed and slapped a hand over the man's mouth, giving him an angry glare.

"Be quiet ya old cook, we're tryin not to be seen." Stanley waited until the other man nodded and continued speaking in a lower tone.

"We gotta get to my hideyhold. I've got all kinds of inventions and doohickeys that'll help us fight!" I rose an eyebrow at him, unsure if this was such a good plan, but Stan seemed to be fine with it as did the others, all nodding. I nodded curtly once and gestured for him to lead the way to his 'hideyhole'. He led us down a side road, past a used car dealership and several homes that were in different stages of ruin. The thought of being down here when it all first started made me shudder and squeeze closer to Stanley, wanting a bit of the safe feeling I usually got when around he or his brother. We rounded a corner past a graveyard and my thoughts turned to why there was no one around trying to stop us, not a single eyebat since we had stepped into the town. It was concerning to say the least. Finally an old junk yard came into view and the old man pointed towards it, doing an odd jump/knee slap combo and picking up the pace. I tightened my grip on Ford's blaster and shuffled forward quickly to keep up, leaving the group a few paces back. The junk yard looked awful and I couldn't tell if that was from before or after everything started. My eyes peered over the old cars and trash until they landed on a rusted piece of machinery that looked like a large dinosaur. It was absolutely fantastic and I raced over to it, curiosity to big to not want to see. I ran my hand over the side, wanting so badly to get into the machine to see how it worked but stopped myself. We weren't really in the position to be studying mechanics right now. I turned back to see the group filing in now and the man returning from a dirty looking shanty with several more mechanics in his arms. He saw me by the dinosaur machine and gave me an incredibly warm smile and knowing look. I really did not know what to make of him. 

We all gathered around, looking through the tools that he had while he explained what each did. This man really seemed like a genius. I was reaching towards an odd looking red gun when everything went bad. First came the sound, a series of shouts and wing flaps from the entrance of the junk yard. Spinning I saw several awful looking creatures filing in around us, at least 10 eye bats flapping overhead and our exit was completely blocked. The creatures looked like the demons we had seen before, a cyclops covered in pink and white flames, an evil looking troll with a pacifier sticking out of his stomach, a large purple loaf of bread with limbs and several more. I stared at them for a moment, scared out of my mind before feeling a hand on my shoulder, Stanley's hand, and it was enough to steel me. 

"Let us through or you will die trying to stop us!" I shouted angrily towards the demons only to cause them to start laughing at us. I grimaced angrily and stomped a foot on the ground, stepping forward towards them a bit when they didn't budge. 

"I SAID MOVE!" I shouted again and my group roared behind me this time, strong and loud. The demons laughter died down and they all took readied stances, the cyclops tilting her head at me and grinning.

"You really think you can stop him don't you? When boss said you we're a stubborn human he really meant it. An attractive one too..." The thing licked it's lips seductively and I shuddered again, closing my eyes to regain composure. 

"One more chance. Move or die!" My voice shook now, not as strong as before, but the people around me began to raise their weapons, ready to fight until we couldn't anymore. All for those kids. 

A little blue creature with a massive keyhole in it's head laughed once more, loud and harsh before jumping forward and landing right in front of me. I gasped, nearly falling back and immediately reached for Ford's blaster.

"We won't move....sounds like you're gonna die!" The thing shouted and the fight erupted instantly. Stanley knocked me out of the way, shoving his brass knuckles straight into the blue creatures face making it wail in pain and sputter backwards. The pink cyclops roared and the other demons ran forward, meeting our group head on. I sat dazed on the ground for a moment before standing, wrestling the blaster gun free. I looked over to see Wendy axing the large purple creature, it's cries sounding like she was doing an excellent job, while her tiny brother stabbed it in the paw. 

"TAKE NO MERCY!" I shouted loudly, several others roaring in approval, and began shooting up at the eyebats. They were fast and agile, swooping through the air at alarming rates, but the blaster was powerful and after a few shots I had two dead on the ground. Raising my gun to go after more I was suddenly lifted off of the ground by my hair, screeching against the pain and fear. The pink cyclops held me between her long fingernails and licked her lips again.

"You just look so tasty..." Her mouth opened wider than any mouth should and I kicked my leg up hard, landing square in her eye. She yelped and tossed me to the ground angrily, knocking the breath out of me, and the old man dragged me up before she could regain her hold. I nodded thanks and turned to shoot the cyclops when a sudden scream filled my ears and I turned in time to see Susan fall to the ground limp. 

"Susan!!" I shouted, running towards her. An eyebat swooped in front of me, making some awful, high-pitched noise, and before I could make to shoot it Wendy had jumped on it's back and was tearing wings off. I ran around the two and saw Soos next to Susan, tears leaking down his face.

_Oh god...this was an awful idea..._

I surveyed the fight, Stanley fighting the keyhole demon, the old man kicking at the pink cyclops, both of the blonde children helping each other with the monster with a pacifier, Wendy's little brother about to get crushed by the purple creature. 

"NO!" I shouted out, running forward but the distance was too far. It happened too fast.

"WENDY!" The little boys shrill scream filled the air and everything went slower, the sounds of his bones crushing under the foot of the creature loud and echoing. Wendy's body froze and turned, everything so slow, and her eyes searched for her baby brother. There was nothing left to find of him. Tears streamed down my face as I ran back to her but her body was stone, staring at the spot. 

'Wendy come on we have to fight..." She stared straight at that spot, blood pooling under it's foot and streaming onto the soil. 

"GUS!" Her sudden shout scared me, losing my grip, and I watched as she ran forward screaming his name. 

"GUS GOD NO GUS WHY" 

The beast lifted it's paw, roaring angrily, to charge at Wendy and the sight itself made bile rise in my throat. I ran forward towards her to try and help but was grabbed by the ankle, hitting the ground once again. I cursed loudly and looked down to see the small blonde boy with the charming southern accent laying there. Blood glittered on his lips and I gasped, pulling him into a sitting position. Tears fell heavily down his face a large wound in his stomach was leaking just as heavily. 

"You're going to be okay sweetie..."

"Ya gotta go. Go save them. Please." He pointed towards the Fearamid, body shaking and suddenly the blonde girl was next to us, looking more battered than the last I'd seen her. 

"He's right ya know. Get outta here. Go save them!" She took the boy, Gideon was what she called him, from me and I stood quickly, looking for Stanley. Everything was so bad. Bodies littered the ground, some demons, many of ours. Wendy lay limp on the ground and I cried, wanting so badly to go to her. Wanting so badly to take back this entire plan. My body shook and I tried to take a step forward, nearly falling.

_They're dead....they're dead and it's my fault...._

A sob wracked through me, soon to be followed by others, when I suddenly heard someone scream my name. I turned quickly to see the old man flying through the air, small mechanical wings on his back, headed straight towards me. I gasped and threw arms up to not be hit but he soared straight over me, the wind rippling my hair, and made contact with the cyclops. I had no idea she was right behind me. He cackled and began to stab at her with a large knife and I joined in the fight, shooting the blaster towards her legs. She screeched and yelled, clawing at the old man but he was fast and his knife kept her plenty distracted. I aimed for her stomach this time, trying not to hit him, and shot. The shot missed but she roared all the same, finally sinking her claws into his back and throwing him backwards. I watched as he landed hard on a metal bar, the entire bar entering his back and exiting his chest with a splatter of blood. 

"NOO!" I gritted my teeth in anger and turned, screaming in pure fury now and began shooting. I shot 4 or 5 times until the gun became too hot to touch, dropping to the ground. The place where the cyclops eye was was now a steaming empty hole and she fell backwards on the dirt. I didn't take the time to relish in the victory, running to the old man. 

"We're gonna get you off of here okay.." I was still crying, had never really stopped and he held up a shaky hand covered in blood. 

"D-d-dont.."

I whimpered and shook my head, reaching for the bar again, grimacing when he winced with pain from just touching the bar.

"I'm just going to get Stanley...don't worry...I'll be right back..."

I felt his hand suddenly grab mine and turned back. His eyes we're glazed and dark and he slowly reached trembling hands into his front pocket, grimacing deeply the whole time. He pulled out a small slip of paper and shoved it towards me, into my hand, before taking a shuddered breath and letting his head fall limp.

"Nono nononono you're okay, come on you're okay..." I cried harder now, shaking him. 

"Fuck! Come on please....please...." 

The paper crumpled in my hand as I shook him and I looked down at it through blurry eyes. A small gasp left me as I saw my mother and I, a picture we also had hung up at home, old and torn around the edges. Turning the picture over I saw my mothers handwriting, a small note scribbled.

_Dear Fiddleford,_

_This is your daughter. She is just like you, strong mind and sweet._

_Please come home. We miss you. I'm sorry for everything._

_Much Love_

My mind stuttered, unable to comprehend what was happening. This is your daughter. Your daughter. I couldn't understand, it didn't make any sense. Hands suddenly grasped at my shoulder, pulling me away from Fiddleford. Stanley looked down at me, frantic, blood dripping from a small cut in his head. 

"We gotta go sweetie, we gotta get to the kids." He looked around at the ongoing battle, so few of us left, knowing it was now or never.

"Did you know?" I asked softly, not caring at the moment.

"We don't have time for this okay, we will talk about it later-"

"Did you know he was my dad?" I asked again, shaking my head at him.

"Yes. But we just don't have time right now Doll. The kids....please..." I heard the desperation in his voice and nodded lowly, looking back at my father. My father. 

He grabbed my arm and we ran forward, bypassing several others fighting. So many people dead on the ground, many of the creatures dead now as well. We had fought so very hard. Stanley seemed to know where he was going and I let him lead me, dragged by the arm, past houses and alleys. Past a melted statue of someone, past the town center, until we were standing in front of the giant looming structure. My eyes themselves seemed to tremble and I tried to shake the awfulness that was filling my heart, the pure pain. Why did everything have to be so bad? Stanley and I slowly walked forward towards the pyramid, steps quiet in the soft soil below us. The sheer size of it made me shudder, wishing we had never come here. Wishing this had never happened and that I could have stopped it and oh god all those people were dead....the children....

Stanley squeezed my hand tightly and sighed. 

"How are we going to get up there?" 

I shrugged, unsure of that question myself before pulling Dipper pack off my back.

"Maybe he had something in here." I opened the pack and was met with a dust cloud of glitter, coughing and rubbing my eyes. Stanley laughed, a nice sound compared to all the terrible things, and shook his head. 

"Look's like you got Mable's bag..." Suddenly his eyes lit up and he grinned, grabbing the bag from me and digging through it. 

"If this is Mable's bag then she shou-AHA!" He shouted triumphantly, pulling out a grapple hook. I gave him a serious look, wondering why he couldn't have mentioned something about owning one of these sooner, before looking up. 

_Man I hope we're ready for this..._

I suddenly felt Stanley's hand on my cheek and looked at him, startled. His touch was warm and he was looking at me in a way he never had, making a blush creep up my cheeks, entirely inappropriate given the situation.

"Listen....I just want you to know that if given the chance to do this all again, I would make sure you were mine. If I had to make the decision between bringing my brother back and getting the chance for a normal life with you....I know what I would choose." The words swam around my had as he lowered his face, his lips meeting mine and melting against me. I barely felt his arm wrap around my waist or heard him shoot the grappling hook upward but gasped and pulled away as we shot upwards towards the Fearamid.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time kid, you knew this was coming. So....do we have a deal?


	23. Wkh Elj Ilqlvk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So you decided to refuse my deal. You shouldn't have done that. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'M LIKE WHEN I'M ANGRY?!

Hot, stale air whistled past my ears as we flew upwards, head instinctively pressed against Stanley's chest from the suddenness. His arm was wrapped around my waist tightly, unmoving and I had a moment to appreciate what a handsome man he was, especially without that strange, maroon hat. His eyes were locked on the closely approaching edge of the Fearamid, readying his stance and I felt his hand slid down and sit firmly on my bottom. Instinctively I went to swat at his hand before realizing that he was shoving me over the edge hard, the same hand grabbing on as the grappling hook slipped and began spinning through the air and towards the ground. I gasped and spun, scrambling to grab his arm and pull him up as well. It took a few desperate moments, both our bodies weak from everything, but he finally thumped against the tile-like floor, chest heaving in fear and exertion. I lay next to him for a moment , pulling in suspiciously cool air and letting it settle nicely through my lungs, tired but ready to fight as ever. Finally rising I glanced around the massive room, pyramid shaped, noticing that most everything was grey and blue. Oddly morbid pictures hung from the walls and blue lights coursed in between the tiles on the floor, giving a very surreal feeling to the place. My eyes lit over a rather large mass in the corner of the room and I couldn't quite make out what it was until a frame began lowering from the ceiling, covered in lights. My eyes were immediately drawn to the frame, shining blue like the topper to a pine tree, as it slowly descended, illuminating the whole room. The eerie emptiness didn't make it past Stanley or I and we quietly moved forward, looking for signs of someone or something else. When the frame had reached about halfway down I saw what the large mass in the corner was, gagging and shoving my face onto Stanley's chest again for a moment. A massive pile of deformed and mutilated bodies laid there, some of their eyes staring open in every direction. Stanley ran a hand over my hair, also looking away, heart beating quickly under my ear.

"Why is it like this?" My voice was soft and I felt the motion of his head shaking, followed by a shaky sigh.

"I don't have a good answer for that one. It's just evil, the most evil I've ever seen." 

"We gotta find the kids...." I whispered, hating how loudly we echoed in the silence around us. The frame was still lowering, about 10 feet off the ground now, and through the lights I realized it wasn't a frame but a cage. Gasping, Stanley ran forward and jumped to reach the cage, brushing his fingers against the bottom and causing it to rock slightly and stop moving completely. He jumped again, fingers only brushing and cursed. I took the moment to step backwards until I could see into the cage, eyes locking on what seemed to be two small figures. 

"Stanley it's them!" I nearly shouted, not caring about volume now. If the demon didn't know we were here then it was his own fault. He jumped again, desperately, but it was just too high. An idea dawn on me and I ran back to him, putting my hands on his shoulders. He stared down at me for a moment before understanding, a grin cracking across his face, and holding his hands down to hoist me up.

"Smart girl..." I heard him mumbled and smiled despite myself, tall enough now to reach halfway up the cage. The children both lay there, eyes closed, hands intertwined together and my heart broke slightly. Dipper had a line of blood running from his temple and Mable had bruises covering her face.

"Dipper...Mable...." My voice was softer now, laced with worry and Stanley lost his balance a bit trying to look up. My leg shook a moment and I grabbed the cage for support, causing it to swing slightly, and we played a balancing act for a few moments before finally regaining composure. Neither child had opened their eyes and I heard Stanley ask what was going on.

"I don't know. They're asleep from what I can tell." No sooner than the words had left my mouth I felt the stability of Stanley's hands leave my legs again and began to fall. About 10 seconds after I was supposed to hit the floor, my body tightened against what I expected to be impact, I realized that my body was no longer falling and opened my eyes. Blue energy surrounded me, weightless and a bit claustrophobic, and I angrily tried to push out of it to no avail. Looking around I finally saw Stanley, laying on the ground rubbing his head, before my eyes fixed on the inevitable demon we knew we would see. 

 **"Actually they're under my magic. Not exactly sleep."** Bill purred, floating closer to my energy bubble and I tried to thrash out, feeling like I was trying to hit something in a dream...or a nightmare. He laughed loudly once, making a full circle around me and then floated down to Stanley, pointing a finger at him and causing his body to immediately freeze in place and rise to face the demon. Stanley couldn't even make a facial expression though the anger in his eyes was clear to see. 

 **"How's my second favorite puppet doing? Sorry about our deal pal, I really did try to give her to you!"** Stanley couldn't respond to the words, eyes straining to look anywhere but at the triangular being, and I responded for him. 

"Let the kids go Bill!" My voice rang loudly through the room and I heard his ugly laugh follow the echo, turning to face me again.

**"It's rude to interrupt the adults, broken heart."**

Bill turned back to Stanley and flicked his finger to the left, watching him surge sideways and hit a pillar before crumpling to the floor. I made an angry noise but wasn't able to help in anyway that I had figured out yet, helplessly watching as Bill tossed him around a couple more times. When he finally stopped Stanley looked incredibly dazed and had blood dripping from his nose. He still stood, an incredibly strong man, and stared down the demon.

"Let 'em go." Stanley followed the sentence with a spit of blood to the floor, wiping his mouth. Bill did a loop in the air before coming incredibly close to Stanley, hand on his nonexistent chin, pretending to consider. 

 **"How about we make another deal instead?!"** He finally said, raising both his hands in the air like it was the best idea he'd ever had at last minute. Stanley shook his head quickly, at the same time that I shouted no and Bill sighed, suddenly phasing in front of me, hand over my mouth. I felt the heat from his hand immediately, nearly burning my lips, and tried to pull away.

 **"If you don't learn to shut that pretty little mouth I'll burn it off."** He purred the words again, nearly against my ear and finally pulled his hand away. My eyes watered from the pain but I said nothing now, fearful he would happily follow through with the threat. Stanley was standing in the same place, feet now frozen though I hadn't seen when Bill had done that, and nearly tipped over to the floor trying to move forward to stop the demon. 

"Leave her alone! What do ya want?!" He shouted and Bill turned away from me again, thankfully.

 **"I just told you, I want to make a deal! I'll give you your precious little children and the girl too, but you gotta give me something."** Bill snapped his fingers and the cage disappeared, the children's bodies rocketing towards the floor and only stopping inches from the impact of a ten foot drop. They landed softly instead, both still asleep, and I felt my heart in my throat beating hard. Stanley's hands were raised, the same fear in his expression melting away to fury.

"I don't make deals with crooked people." He replied angrily before seeing Bill raise a finger towards the children again. There was the fear again, exactly what Bill ruled with and Stanley hung his head against his chest.

"Fine, fine what do you want?" Bill nodded, seemingly satisfied for the moment, before crossing his legs in the air and straightening his hat. 

 **"Well, I have a problem. There is something keeping me inside Gravity Falls! Now how am I supposed to take over the entire universe if I can't even MAKE IT OUT OF THIS STUPID TOWN!?"** Bill was furious in an instant, turning red and growing rather large. Mood-swinging demons were a new one in my book, especially one as terrifying as him. He quickly receded, dusting himself off shrugging. 

 **"But there's a mutual friend of ours that knows just the bit of information I need. Your dear brother Stanford. Tell me where he is."** Stanley grimaced at the statement, eyes focused on the ground and then rising up to look at the kids. Hopelessness in that gaze, not knowing what to do to fix the situation. His eyes locked onto mine and I knew his decision, immediately. I couldn't blame him but tears began to drip down my cheeks all the same, sorrow rising up in my heart as he dejectedly began to raise his arm, hand outstretched.

"Stanley no..." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them but all Bill did was cackle in my direction. The pure desperation in Stanley's eyes, his own tears flowing freely at the betrayal he was going to commit. 

 **"AhaHAHAHA STANLEY YES!"** Bill's laugh rose to levels that made my ears ring and the roar nearly shook the room we were in as his own hand lit with blue flame and he stuck it towards the broken twin. Beside us the twins had begun to awaken, groggily rubbing their heads and trying to get a grasp on the situation.

 

 

"NO!" The shout resounded around the room and my heart jumped like the first time I had heard his voice. Stanford walked forward, seemingly out of thin air, standing tall and pointing up at Bill. Behind him was a tall, bald man in all white with small rimmed glasses. His expression was solemn and angry, as was Ford's. Bill began to giggle, holding his sides with the laughter, the blue light disappearing from his hand. When he finally calmed down he struck Stanley's hand away, sending him into a nearby wall with a loud thump.

 **"Deal is** **off flesh bag!"** As soon as Stanley hit the wall the blue energy around me disappeared and I hit the floor, my skull knocking loudly against the tiles. I groaned and tried to rise, the pounding in my head too fierce for the moment. My eyes focused on the children and I began to crawl towards them, feeling like the last time we had encountered the demon all over again. Dipper and Mable were holding each other tightly, still not completely conscious enough to figure things out and I wrapped my arms around them both. Bill turned to Stanford and grew a bit, doing a somersault through the air.

 **"Oh man Fordsy! I've been looking everywhere JUST FOR YOU!"** Bill chuckled to himself as Ford stepped forward angrily towards the children and I.  **"Your brother was about to give you up to me but now he doesn't have to!"**

Ford looked towards Stanley before shaking his head and looking back at the dream demon. "Whatever you want, it's going to be on my terms." The bald man stepped forward now, standing beside Ford and spoke in a nasally voice that didn't seem to match him at all.

"That's right! Time Baby is on his way now to stop all of this!" All the statement earned was another laugh from the demon. 

 **"You think that overgrown infant can stop me!? I'M GOING TO RULE EVERYTHING! IMAGINE A WORLD THAT I CREATE! WEIRDNESS AND EVIL EVERYWHERE! Finally a dimension I deserve!"** He suddenly snapped his fingers again and I felt myself being pulled away from the children, hanging upside down by my ankles. Ford's jacket hanging over my head, tangling with my hair, I shoved it all out of my face and tried to catch my bearings. **"And you are going to give me the information I want Sixer! OR I WILL KILL THEM ALL!"**

Blood was rushing to my head, making the thump already there that much worse, and I struggled against whatever was holding me. Where the magic had been carrying me by my ankles, it was now Bill's hand wrapped around them both and I swung haphazardly next to him, upside down. I couldn't think, could barely breathe, and couldn't stand everything going on.

_Why was Ford here? Did he have a plan? What was a time baby? Fuck this hurts..._

Ford stepped forward again, the same expression of calm anger on his face, hands raised. 

"I'll make a deal with you Bill." Ford's statement seemed to catch the demon off-guard and I stared at them both, confused. Ford's face was strained, I could see worry in those lines, but he stood strong all the same. Bill lowered himself down to meet Ford's gaze straight on, one hand seemingly on his hip, before dropping me. Everything swam for a moment before I scrambled back towards the kids, the only rock in my mind now keeping them safe.

 **"Will you now, Sixer? Why I love deals!"** He wiggled around for a moment and Ford grimaced, sticking out his hand quickly. 

"I will give you the way out of Gravity Falls but you must promise not to harm my friends or family. No one I love. You will not hurt them..." He spoke through clenched teeth now and I held the children close as they began to struggle against me. Dipper looked up at me and I held a finger to my lips, not wanting them to get wrapped into this. He was sacrificing the world for our safety.

If Bill could grin I would swear he was at that moment and he stuck his hand out at Ford, the same blue fire glowing brightly over his palm. I closed my eyes tightly and felt arms wrap around us, knowing it was Stanley's body against ours. He had crawled his way over, bloody and bruised, unbeknownst to the demon. I heard the clap of hands and the room lit bright blue, so bright I could see it through my closed lids. Underneath the loud boom and light around us I had heard Ford's voice, right before the clap.

"...or you go back to your dimension." 

* * *

 

The boom of the fire was suddenly overcome buy the loud anger of Bill. He was screaming angrily, Ford fallen back onto the ground and staring up at the scariest thing I was sure he had ever seen. 

 **"YOU THINK YOU CAN TRICK ME SIXER! WAS THIS YOUR PLAN!? I DON'T HAVE TO HURT THOSE STUPID FLESH BAGS YOU LOVE TO RULE THE WORLD! I'LL PUT THEM ALL IN A BUBBLE AND THEY'LL NEVER SEE THE TRUE LIGHT AGAIN!"** His screams echoed horribly in my ears and I felt Stanley pressing hard against us, all of our bodies rigid in fear. I opened my eyes long enough to see the three dimensional demon now a monstrosity of teeth and limbs, looming over Ford, rage seeping off of his very existence. Ford stared up at him, his plan had worked and the triumph was there. But that meant that...

"A deal's a deal Cipher." Ford's voice was barely loud enough to hear but my ears strained to it. Bill roared again and finally rose one of the massive limbs, snapping it's fingers with a booming noise. Ford gave a loud scream, an unearthly sound that made a gasp bolt out of me, and the sound of metal skittering across tile filled the room. I looked up to see a metal plate come to a sliding stop, covered in what looked like blood. Bile rose in my throat and I quickly whipped my head to look back at Ford. His head was seeping blood, hand held tightly against it, and I whimpered at the sight. 

 **"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME OUT! I WILL GET WHAT I WANT!"** Bill screeched and suddenly receded to his normal form. Out of the form flew a blue version of the demon, cackling and immediately flying into Ford. Ford's pained noises came to a stop as his eyes fluttered shut and he fell backwards to the ground. 

"FORD!" It was my voice now, screaming for the man I loved, pushing Stanley away from me and running to him. 

"Ford no no, wake up Ford! Why did you do this!? GET OUT OF HIM!" I screamed at Ford's unconscious face, shaking him vigorously. My hands met his cheeks, smacking as hard as I dared, begging him to awake. Tears fell against his sweater, a free falling river. "Ford please....for us....please wake up..." The blood was coming at an alarming rate out of a massive gash in his scalp and I held my hand to it. Stanley's hand was suddenly on my shoulder and I jerked in surprise, staring up at him.

"We have to get out of here...He saved us don't make it for nothing." Stanley's voice was strained and I saw the children standing behind him, terrified and still clinging to each other.

"No! Not without him!" I shouted, turning back to Ford. Suddenly his body gave a jolt and he groaned loudly. The blue astral version of blue came flying out of his body and back into the triangular body.

 **"AHAHAH! I GOT IT! It's mine! I will rule the universe."** Bill's voice filled the room again and I held Ford's coughing figure against me, kissing every inch of his face.

"You're okay...it's going to be okay....We can stop this..." I spoke between my sobs, holding him closely. Bill laughed down at us, swinging through the air deliriously and shaking his head. 

 **"You can't stop me broken heart! YOU'LL NEVER STOP ME! You have no power!"** I felt rage rise quickly through me, so angry that he was right, I had no power. 

"YOU CAN'T HURT US! I WILL FIND A WAY TO STOP YOU!" I screamed it, shaking with pure fury. How could everything have gone so wrong?

 **"Oh...kid. I can always hurt you."** Suddenly my body flew backwards, pulled by a force I couldn't see. It dragged me further and further away from Ford and I screamed his name, begging for anyone to do anything. Bill laughed again and a blue flame lit over his hand, pointing it towards Ford.

 **"Don't worry Sixer, this'll be a long and painful death."** The demon murmured, the quietest I'd ever heard him and Ford's eyes locked on mine. I saw a small smile cross his lips and his hand stretched towards me. 

"NO!" I clawed my nails into the floor, trying to drag myself back to him as Bill shot the blue flame from his hand. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got some people I need to make into corpses.


	24. Something Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god guys what happened....the last thing I remember was Bill taking over...you didn't take his deal right?

So much happened in a matter of seconds, my eyes locked on Ford's, seeing his lack of regret and pride at being able to save us. I don't know if time actually slowed down but it felt like a single second stretched on into hours and I turned my head to see blue death heading straight for him. I opened my mouth to scream his name, to do anything that would make this nightmare be over, anything to make this not happen. My peripherals caught sudden movement but as soon as I looked away to see what it was time sped back up and the ball of fire made contact with a massive boom that shook the entire room. Howls of pain filled my ears and I clamped my hands over them, finally free of whatever force had been pulling me away. 

"No no non onono..." I sobbed, unable to do anything other than that, digging my hands harder into my ears to stop the sounds. Sudden screams boomed over the painful sounds of human death, so loud that my eyes shot open in surprise. I stared up at Bill, screaming and twisting into unbelievable forms over and over, teeth and limbs everywhere. His screams grew, speaking in a language I couldn't even begin to understand and all I could do was stare up at the most impossible thing I had ever seen. He turned into creatures my darkest imagination couldn't touch, colors my mind didn't understand, he was in absolute agony. 

**"!nruter yam I taht rewop tneicna eht ekovni I !nrub ot emoc sah emit ym, L T O L O X A"** Bill suddenly grew to fill the top of the room and screamed in anguish something that sounded horrid and dripped with power in a way I didn't know words could. His entire being shook violently before he began to be sucked backwards into some kind of hole that must have just appeared. 

**" STANLEY!!!!!"** The demon's final scream shook the room again as he popped through the portal and out of our existence. I sat there for a moment, my eyes wide and dry from staring for so long, before the realization of Ford hit me again and tears started dripping. The room was covered in smokey dust, slowly settling, and the only sound that broke the silence was soft sobbing. I stood as quickly as my shaky legs would allow and moved blindly towards the sounds, hands outstretched to stop from running into something. As the dust settled further my eyes could make out the silhouette of two figures and I ran forward, gasping. Ford was hunched over Stanley, sobbing loudly now, cradling his twin against his chest. I reached them, dazed and emotionally strung, staring at the man I loved but thought dead. Instead it was Stanley's lifeless body lying there, body battered and bruised, charred in places. I fell to my knees beside Ford and tried to understand exactly what had happened, tears falling endlessly down my face. 

_He's dead...._

Looking up quickly at the sound of approaching footsteps I remembered the children were still here. I tried to get up to stop them, hold them back from seeing Stanley like this but they were too quick and it was Mable that first understood, running forward and throwing herself next to him.

"GRUNKLE STAN!" Her voice ripped through the air, pain so monumental my own tears came harder now. I rushed to her, trying to pull the child away but she wrapped her tiny arms around him and sobbed, refusing to let go. Dipper immediately went next to Ford who wrapped his arms around the boy and they cried like that for a moment, no words. 

"No come on Grunkle Stan! We had so much stuff to do! Grunkle Stan..." Mable shook Stanley's shoulders, unable to stop hugging herself against him, face buried against his chest. She shuddered from the sobs and finally began to quiet, laying against him, lacing her small hand to his. I looked up at Ford through my own tears and caught his gaze over Dipper's shoulder. His eyes were glassy and swollen but alert and I could see his brain working through what had happened as well. He nodded towards Mable and I reached down, picking her up off Stanley and holding her against me. There was no protest this time, just quiet resignation, and I held her tightly, wanting to squeeze hurt away. 

After a few moments I lifted Mable and walked over to Ford, setting her down and watching her cling to Dipper in desperation. He started whispering something to her and I felt my heart break a bit more watching him comfort her. I couldn't stand looking at Stanley any longer, more tears beginning to flow every time, and shrugged Ford's jacket off of my shoulders to lay over him. Taking a moment to silently thank him before covering his face, I let out a soft sob at the thought of never seeing Stanley again. Slowly rising I sidestepped into Ford's waiting arms, finally feeling less unsteady while against him. As a broken family we stood there for I don't know how long, holding each other, completely silent. My mind raced over the horrors we had faced, the things I knew now that I didn't before. 

"Is Bill gone?" It was Dipper's voice that pierced through the silence, timid and a bit nervous. Ford looked down at him and nodded slowly, sighing.

"Yes. He broke our deal which means he got forced back to his dimension. Stan-" His voice cracked saying his twins name and Ford took a moment to regain composure. "Stanley sacrificed himself to save the world. He sacrificed himself to save me." More tears now made their way down his cheeks and I took a moment to understand that impact of what he had done. I was about to ask what happens next when a bright light flashed around the room and the bald man that had been with Ford before reappeared. He looked down at where Stanley was and grimaced, looking back up at Ford.

"Blendin." Ford nodded towards the man, acknowledging him. 

"I'm sorry for this happening." He replied and Ford nodded again, expression strained. I wrapped myself closer to him, confused at who and why this man was here. 

"Can't we have a bit longer?" Ford's voice shook slightly now and I felt his arm tighten around me. Blendin shook his head apologetically and raised a hand to me. I hid my face against Ford like a child, pulling the actual children closer to me. I didn't know what this man wanted but too much was happening at once for me to care about listening.  

"I'm sorry Stanford but orders come directly from Time Baby. It has to be now." Ford sighed heavily and buried his face in my hair for a moment, both arms wrapped tightly around me. When he finally pulled back he kissed me lightly, once then twice. 

"I love you. Try not to forget that." His voice shook and my eyes widened as the understanding quaked through me. 

"No! I'm not ready to go! I don't want to go back anymore!" I shouted, holding him tightly against me. It was time for me to go back to my own time. This queued understanding in the children who also began to shout and hold themselves against me. Ford was holding back tears, it was easy to tell, and quietly calmed the kids down before turning back to me. 

"You have to go back. I don't like it either but you have to." I shook my head as he said the words, tears falling quickly when I thought I had nothing left to cry. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair. 

"I can't leave you. I can't leave. I love you. What is going to happen now?" Sobbing the words out I felt his hands wiping away the tears as he kissed me a final time. I shook my head against him and tried to hold on but he pushed me towards the bald man and picked the kids up, holding their crying forms. Blendin sat a hand on me and sighed, something in his hand beginning to glow. 

"We will be okay...don't worry." Ford's voice was already sounding far away and my stomach jumped slightly as my skin began to tingle in places with energy. 

Through the tears I tried to speak, pulling my eyes away from the family I had made here. "Will I remember everything?" Blendin looked around nervously, not making eye contact and instead looked back at Ford. Ford smiled softly towards me, holding the kids that much tighter. As the light grew almost blinding I made sure his face was the last thing I could see. Blendin's voice sounded next to me but I never moved my gaze.

"You're not supposed to but someone convinced us to make an exception." 

With that it felt like we were being pulled backwards, falling and flying at the same time, colors dancing everywhere. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this!


	25. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for a wild ride guys, it's been great.

I appeared in my bedroom, no big explosions or loud sounds, just the receding of the purest light that had ever graced my eyes. Blendin hesitated a moment, pressing buttons on the machine that had brought us here and I took the moment to push away more tears and clear my mind. I couldn't tell if things were hazy because of travelling back 5 years or my mind being so incredibly drained from the adventure that never actually happened. Or hadn't happened yet. Blendin cleared his throat and I rose my gaze to his, surprised to see a smile graces his features.

"It was nice to meet you. See you around." His voice was soft as the white light began to grow around him again and I opened my mouth to ask what he meant. Much faster this time the brightness encompassed my room and Blendin's figure stretched to impossible lengths before disappearing completely and taking the magic with him.

I was alone again...but I had a plan.

I grabbed a bag out of my closet and began shoving things into it, clothing, books, trinkets, until it was bursting at the seams and could barely zip. It thunked on the floor hard when I pulled it off my bed and I laughed, the first joyous sound to leave me in such a long time. I shoved my door open with my foot and wrestled the suitcase into the hallway before looking back longingly into my room. As an afterthought I rushed back in and grabbed a white notebook off my desk along with the pen that lay next to it. My suitcase thumped down the stairs behind me and my mother came out of the kitchen, wringing her hands in a dishtowel and smiled up at me.

"Where are you off to sweetie?" Her question was so casual, no idea what had happened, no reason to know what had happened.

"Gravity Falls." The words left my mouth and I couldn't contain the grin that followed it from the shock on her face. She stuttered for a moment, staring down at her dishtowel and finally back up at me.

"How did you find out?" Was the question she finally asked and I held out the picture of she and I so much younger that my father had given me.

"It's a weird story mom. I have to go though..." She nodded quickly before I even finished the thought, flapping her hands at me.

"It's always something weird with that place. I understand though. I hope you find what you need though sweetie...you'll call when you get there?" I laughed happily at her understanding and wrapped unsteady arms around her neck.

"Of course mom. I love you." She gave my cheek a kiss and batted me away, wiping at a few tears leaking out of her eyes. I raced out the back door and Max nearly knocked me over with kisses and barks. We played for a few moments before I grabbed his leash and we raced around the house to my car. I don't remember how long we drove, 8 or 9 hours maybe with plenty of breaks in between, but when we pulled up it immediately felt like home. 

I remember walking up to the junkyard apprehensively and seeing my dad in that little shack. He recognized me as soon as he saw me, laughing and hoo-hawing and I nearly cried then and there at the fact that I had a crazy, old dad. And he loved me. He had been through so much and could barely remember the fact that he had a family but we were going to work on that. I started off by getting us a place in town, a tiny house with a big garage that fit our needs perfectly.

I remember driving up the old trail to the Mystery Shack, heart thumping hard in my chest and not knowing if I was making the right decision. Not knowing what I was going to say. I knocked on the door to the house though the gift shops sign read OPEN. No one answered on the first knock or the second so I sighed and went back around to the gift shop, walking in and hearing the little bell tinkle. Behind the register, on a stool, sat a very young Soos and I giggled at the sight, relaxing a bit to be back in the place I'd felt most home.

"What can I do fer ya Miss?" I heard is voice and could barely believe it, swinging around and staring for a moment. There was Stanley, strange hat and all, beaming at me in with his best con-man smile.

"Stanley!" I shouted it and rushed him, hugging tightly and not letting go. This wasn't what I intended to do by any means but seeing him alive...I just couldn't stand it. He froze stiffly, patting my back awkwardly and then laughing a bit.

"Hey lady I like hugs from pretty women as much as the next guy but I don't think I know ya and ya got the wrong name." I pulled away, grinning and nodding as he spoke. 

"No no yeah I know you don't know me. But you will Stanley." He tilted his head in confusion and I bit my lip to stop from laughing again. It was going to be an amazing 5 years.

 

I remember watching Ducktective late at night with Soos and Stanley, my father joining us sometimes too, in a weird version of a happy family. Stanley and I became the best of friends and I'd be lying if I said we didn't share a few intimate moments but I'd made it clear that I was waiting for someone and he never pushed the subject. I helped build the portal that would be bringing him back but a lot of the science was beyond my understanding and in my mind I knew that was Bill's work. Through Stanford. Stanley could hardly make sense of it either but we worked together through it. Stanley's family would send photos of Mable and Dipper, so adorable and young, though I teased Stanley about the fact they were all addressed to Ford. 

I remember when Dipper and Mable first arrived in Gravity Falls and it made my heart soar, seeing Stanley being so gruff with them. He was so secretly kind and loving but never wanted to give a front other than brutish and strong. The kids and I became fast friends, with so many stories I'd have to dedicate another book to them all.

I remember not being there when Stanley opened the portal, not understanding what was going on when the gravity anomalies started happened. I got to the shack as quickly as I could, narrowly missing a blast from the memory gun that the kids had talked about. I tried not to pursue all their adventures, feeling I'd seen enough adventure in my life as is. That same memory gun was able to bring back some of my father's memory though and that was a priceless gift.

I remember seeing him standing there as I pulled up, black jacket and perplexed expression on his face as he stared down at the children. I got out of the car and realized that I didn't need to be there right now, needed to let the family work through everything. Sometimes I still felt like a visitor because we just hadn't gotten to that part of our life yet. Before I could leave Ford turned and locked eyes with me and I felt that love grow inside of me again, 5 years stale but still there ready and waiting. Neither of us spoke that time to each other, nor the 3 following times I was over at the shack and managed to actually glance at him. We would always just look at each other. Slowly he began to trust me. Eventually he began to love me. 

I remember starting this journal to tell the story, thinking that it would do some good for myself and maybe others to write it down. It's been quite a battle to get the whole story out and has taken much longer than I ever figured, but there is the story. There's not much else to tell. I'm happy now, we all are. Isn't it just...perfect?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I win.


End file.
